Black Apple Poison
by Sarah Elizabeth Merizalde
Summary: It was never supposed to be like this. This was not what he was created to do. It was too cold. It was the dead of winter. Even though she is sleeping that glass case would not be enough to keep her warm. She would die before any prince came to save her!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY VILLAIN PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

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_Author's Note:_

_If you have not read Another Chance, please do so before reading this story as well as the others. This story is based off of Japan's Disney Villain Recruiters and I have detailed information about each of the characters. I will still give details to the story here, but for the background purpose, I highly recommend reading Another Chance. Thank you so much, I hope you enjoy it!_

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INTRODUCTION

It was never supposed to be like this. This was not what he was created to do.

It was too cold. It is the dead of winter. Even though she is sleeping that glass case would not be enough to keep her warm. She would die before any prince came to save her!

His heart screamed in his chest and ached terribly. The mere thought of a prince pressing his lips to hers, saving her from her cursed slumber . . .it drove him mad!

The orders to kill her yelled in his head, but his heart screamed that he needed to save her.

He stood over the glass case, hands gripping the edge of the coffin.

She'll die if he leaves her here. She would never survive the winter, not to mention she can't eat so she would wilt away from starvation.

She will live if he. . . If he only . . .

Chapter One:

With the portkey amulet around his neck, Adam stepped through his Door Between Realms and stepped out of a world of rain, darkness, and only night to a world that the sun was a blinding light. The door opened up at the trunk of a green apple tree in the middle of a great lighted forest. He had to squint when he stepped out because he had never seen the sun before; not that he could look directly at it because it was so bright. It was the first time that Adam felt hot. Birds tweeted all around him, the grass was so green, the air was so clean, and there wasn't a cloud

in sight.

Adam Apple Poison's first experience in the Realm of Snow White was positively beautiful. He could not in a million years believe that the Evil Queen was the ruler of _this _Realm. From where he stood he discovered that he was on some mountain with a view of the entire Realm. He could smell oil and grease wafting in the air coming from the Diamond Mines a few miles away. Off in the distance he would see a stone castle with high walls. Although he had never seen the castle before, something inside of him told him that this was the castle that he needed to go to. Tucking the amulet inside of his shirt, and taking his black leather bound field journal out, a quill, and a small inkwell. With a few dabs of the quill he wrote a quick script in the first few pages.

_February 9_

_Field Mission One:_

_Examine area._

_Find subject and weakness._

_Find the Evil Queen_

He snapped the quill within the journal and tucked it away in an inside pocket of his coat and made his hike down the mountain to start his mission. It was such an odd place compared to what he was used to. The thing he could not get over was how warm it was. His room with the old hag was a old cold leaky dungeon room that had no windows, had no light, and provided no hope of escape. The wide open fields of waving grains and grasses was a sweet smell and gave him the false security that he could be free. He shook his head and continued his walk, mentally taking notes of all the birds, squirrels, deer, and just small amounts of wild life that darted around freely in their forest.

He stopped and stared at the beauty in nature and was captivated by it for such a moment that even a small fawn looked at him. He stayed still and watched its ears flick and turn and its little nose twitch as it reached its neck out to sniff him. He did not dare move, but he suddenly felt something deep and ominous within him wanting to harm the innocent creature. It took another step forward.

"Please stop," he spoke and the animal listened. Its big brown eyes staring up at him with curiosity. "Don't come any closer. I don't want . . ." It looked ready to move and Adam glared at it. "I don't want to hurt you. I know that I will, and that I can. I just don't want to. Please run away."

As if it understood what he was saying it bolted off towards a stream and climbed a hill where a mother doe stood watching. The fawn joined the mother with a bleat and then the two pranced away. A breath of relief left him and he clutched his chest. No matter the terrible things that old hag had made him do, no matter how desensitized he had become towards violence, no matter how cruel he himself could be he hated causing harm to innocent beings; especially if they have the opportunity to run away. He would, however, have no mercy for Snow White. From all of the things the Evil Queen had told him during his creation and upbringing, she was even more cruel and despicable than the Evil Queen herself; and that was saying something. Apparently Snow White is who inspired her to be even more evil than she was.

She used her beauty to seduce not only men, but also dwarves and animals. With her beauty she could get any thing to do her bidding with just a few flashing of eyelashes. She could command animals to do whatever she wanted, even go after another human and have them killed. She had a singing voice like a siren to lure in creatures before she devoured them. She acted like a pure and innocent soul, but would quickly turn and show her true evil. The Evil Queen only wanted to kill Snow White after she took away her beauty to add to her own youth and to save the civilians of her kingdom.

Of course, since these were the stories that the Evil Queen had told him he did not entirely believe them. The Evil Queen was the sort of mother that would inflict pain, misery, fear, and anxiety to her own creation for the sake of understanding the experience, knowing the best way to use it to his advantage, and to make him stronger because of his weaker qualities. He had read the history books and the stories of Snow White and although she seemed to be an innocent being, she most definitely had an enchanting and enticing look about her to get her own happy ending.

Lost in thought he had not realized he had made it down the mountain until he had finally found a path that led him to the castle. The cream colored bricks seemed welcoming, despite the high walls. It looked like a place that provided much protection. He crossed the drawbridge and walked to the two knights standing at the gate.

"Halt." The knight on the right spoke. "Who goes there."

It was not a question, it was a demand of sense and purpose.

"I am Adam," he hesitated on stating his real named and grimaced as he thought of his nickname. "Adam Appoi."

"State your purpose."

"I have an audience with the Queen, Her Majesty, Queen Grimhilde," he held out the hand written invitation that the Evil Queen had written for him before she signed the contract. The knight stared at the invitation, saw the apple seal, and whistled long and loud. The chains within the walls clanged as they were forced to move.

"Step inside and there will be a guide who will take you directly to the Queen." He stabbed his halberd into the ground and stood at attention. "Have a good stay here in Apfel, and be careful."

Adam found the last part to be odd. He was already cautious as he was doing his field work.

What else could there be to be cautious of?

"Mr. Adam Appoi?" a short man dressed in gaudy puffy pink and yellow clothes and a fluffy collar and a balding head waved at him.

"Yes," Adam grimaced at the name he had given them to call him by. He hated being called Appoi.

"Follow me, sir. I'll take you to her Majesty." He was much too happy for Adam's liking. The man started rambling about the kingdom, their successes, what they were best known for, and his own happy life being in the Queen's court. While he rambled about the kingdom, Adam looked around and took it in for himself.

He entered through the gates and he was very surprised by how quaint the town was. Cottages lined the walls of the kingdom as well as the streets; vendors had their displays of fresh fruits, vegetables, livestock, and breads; people walked about with woven baskets; girls picked flowers and braided them into crowns; little boys ran about playing games while the older ones helped in the stables or their elders.

"Do you have any questions?" The guide asked over his shoulder as they walked through town.

"Why would I have any questions?" he raised an eyebrow at the guide. This man was surely a fool. "What you have said has provided sufficient information, as well as the town itself."

"Excellent," the man seemed to glow and Adam was disgusted by his over joyousness. "You are simply going to _love_ her Highness. She is beautiful, merciful, gracious, and the best Queen we've had since the late king and his previous wife."

Adam growled slightly at his words because this man obviously did not truly know his Queen. There was nothing gracious about her, but he kept his comments to himself and merely mentally logged what he had seen and heard today for his field journal later. By the time the guide finally shut up they were in front of the castle.

"Now I'm sure you already know this since you have received a personal," he yammered on. "However, when you are in the throne room, do not speak until you are spoken too after you make your announcement. Whatever business the Queen has with you, you must listen to her exact words. Although she is merciful and gracious, it is never good to displease her."

This time he did not even bother to hide his snort.

"You do not need to warn me in being cautious of displeasing the Queen." He walked past the small man. "I have experienced it enough."

With his invitation in his hand he continued his way to the castle, was properly escorted to the throne room where the Evil Queen, the Queen Grimhilde sat not ancient and ugly as he remembered. She was probably in her mid twenties and not a wrinkle in sight on her milky cream white skin. Her emerald green eyes sparkled, her red lips were a full blossom, cheeks rosy, and black hair spun in a bun on the back of her head. A crown rested on her head to only add to her youthful glory and grace. She looked as though she were the happiest person in the Realm. She was possibly the most beautiful woman he had seen to this point; too bad he knew who she truly was.

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_Thank you so much readers! I hope that you are enjoying the journey so far._

_For those curious for what 'Adam' looks like, check out Apple Poison. His name is not actually Adam, but I felt like I needed to tweak his name a bit so that he still had a relatively normal name to go with other than Apple Poison or Appoi._

_Anyways, thank you so much for reading, and stay tuned for more!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

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Chapter Two

The Queen sat on her throne looking elegant and enchanting, but Adam's very core writhed because despite how beautiful her skin was, she was rotten to the core. He stood before her, gave a small bow, and looked her in the eye. She looked amused at him, those green eyes watching him like a cat.

"Adam Appoi. . ." her voice was silky, but instead of it being smooth, it made his skin crawl and itch. "Such an interesting name." She raised her eyebrow with a smirk and looked him up and down. "I have been told that you have received an invitation from _me_. Would you present it to me."

Another command, not a request. He held out the invitation, not bothering to step forward because one of the servants snatched it up and quickly bestowed it to the Queen. Her eyes skimmed the words and widened as she read the invitation again, much more slowly and stood. Everyone else bowed or curtsied as she rose, but Adam merely stared at her. She walked down those steps from her throne and walked to him with her beauty quickly dissipating. Her eyes widened as though she were mad and her nostrils flared; a touch of her true colors were trying to break through.

"Just who exactly, are you, Adam Appoi?" her long fingers clutched the invitation and her hand shook slightly.

"Your humble servant ma'am," he put his hand over his chest and bowed slightly.

"And where _exactly_ did you get this?" she held up her shaking hand that held the invitation.

"_You_ sent it to me, your Highness."

Her nostrils flared for a moment as she stared up at him, then turned her gaze to the invitation in her hand, then back to him.

"Leave me," she commanded the servants and the knights in the room. "Attend to your duties elsewhere, but leave me!"

Her voice echoed throughout the throne room and in a heartbeat the room was emptied. She waited until shoes no longer shuffled on the floor and turned to him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Though they were alone she spoke in a whisper.

"I assumed that the invitation would explain everything," he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "In my present, you very much assured me that you would understand this letter."

"Of course I understand it," she hissed. "But what I want to know is, is this true?"

"If what is true?"

"My future!" she snapped and clutched at the collar of his coat. "Is my future sealed because of _her?!_"

"Only at the moment," he glared down at her and she in turn glared up at him. "I can tell you everything that you wish to know; but walls have eyes and ears. It is not safe to speak of at the moment."

Her nostrils flared before she took a long inhale and a short exhale.

"Come with me." Her long black and purple velvety cloak rippled behind her as she stormed away. Much to his chagrin, he followed her down the long halls that eventually led to her dungeons. Not a servant was in sight as they walked. All the light that had been in the castle shrunk away from this growing corner of darkness of the castle. Down the turning stairs, over the boat and to her laboratory when he came to existence is where she decided was a safe place to talk. Not that he could blame her anyways since all that was there were skeletons of those less fortunate to not be in the Queen's good graces.

She slapped the invitation in his hand and looked at him with piercing green eyes, the eyes of an old hag thirsty for beauty and youth.

"Now tell me, is my future sealed because of Snow White?" she hissed.

"Not so long as I am here." He merely held the letter and did not read it.

"So you are my . . . Son?" she looked him up and down oddly confused.

"Well, you did create me," he grimaced and she looked appalled. "However, you never allowed me to call you mother, so I would have to say no, I am not your son. But I am your creation, a tool, your servant and have done things as you have requested."

"How does your being here make a difference?" she crossed her arms and held her head high. "I can change my fate, now that I know it, without your help!"

"As I am sure of this," he nodded and avoided rolling his eyes. "However, due to how things are in my present, your future," he pointed at her, "you are not happy and are living in a shadow of your former glory." He gestured to the castle as a whole.

"So what is it that I am to do?" she grabbed at his collar on his shirt again. He did not like that. In fact, he hated it when she did that; too many bad memories trailed whenever she grabbed him by the collar.

"That I cannot tell you," he gently shoved her off and brushed his coat. "I do not know what you did in the first place. I am merely here to keep you from repeating the same mistakes."

"You are useless to me if you cannot tell me what it is I have done!"

_**"Calm down your Majesty." **_ A deep voice bellowed from across the room. Adam froze in place as he recognized that voice all too well.

"Do _not_ tell me to calm down, Mirror," she glared as she turned to the giant piece of glass that rested on the wall. "I am perfectly calm."

The mask in the mirror looked from her to Adam, and a terrible smirk grew on his face. This stupid Mirror had yet to break and still caused years of bad luck for Adam. He always made a point of telling the old hag of his mistakes, his failures, and exposing his weaknesses. He had never been his ally, and from the look that stupid mask just gave him, the Mirror would not be his friend now.

_**"But of course, your Majesty."**_ He looked back to her with a sugar coated smile. "_**I merely did not wanting you to fret over nothing. It will put wrinkles in that beautiful face of yours."**_

She scowled for a moment before closing her eyes to smooth out her wrinkles.

"Please proceed, Mirror."

_**"Thank you, your Majesty." **_He cleared his throat before he spoke again. "_**The boy will be of use to us. He will be very beneficial to your aide in getting rid of the girl, Snow White. He will inevitably be the key to your success."**_

Adam froze in place. He did not like what the Mirror was implying and he felt trapped. He suddenly wanted to trade places with the skeleton in its cell reaching for the pitcher of water.

"And just how will he be the key to my success?" She really did not seem to like the credit of Snow White's death being placed on someone else.

"_**He will ensure that her death will happen." **_ The Mirror chuckled darkly. Despite how many times he had heard that laugh it was the most terrifying thing to hear; especially in the dark. "_**He will also make sure that no one else will disturb her death."**_

"How peculiar. . ." she murmured, and he knew that look in her eyes. She was formulating a plan and trying to think of how to execute it. "And you are sure that you know nothing of how I plan to kill Snow White?"

"I know nothing." He looked down his nose at her. "My master made it a point to only tell me of her successes, not her failure."

A flash of red scourged her face before simmering back down to her milky cream complexion.

"You are quite a fool to be speaking so boldly to me, your creator." She looked up her nose to look at him. Even as a beautiful Queen she was still much shorter than he.

"Technically, in this time you are not my creator yet because you have not yet failed." A hiss escaped her lips. "But I am here to ensure that you do not fail and that Snow White does not hinder your Queenship."

"You are currently useless to me." She flicked her wrist at him as if to flick him away. "You must return to your time, speak to me, and learn what I have once done so I do not repeat it."

"But of course, my Queen." He placed his hand over his heart and bowed. "I shall make it so."

"See that you do," she now looked down at him. "I would hate to have to punish such a loyal tool."

Her smile was dark, even though her teeth were sparkling white. When he stood, he quickly left the dungeons and heard both the Queen and the Mirror laugh.

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_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are enjoying things so far!_

_What do you think so far, readers? I would love to have some feedback on this particular story so far._

_For those of you who don't know, as I didn't until I had to do some research, the Evil Queen from Show White is actually named Queen Grimhilde. Rather fitting since she is a grim woman, wouldn't you think?_

_Anyways, thank you so much for coming along with me on my journey. Hope you stay around for the ride._

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

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Chapter Three

From the dungeons he climbed the stairs, from the stairs he ran down the halls, from the halls he ran and ran and ran until he reached the courtyard where he was able to have some fresh air. He felt sick, he wanted to vomit, and at the same time he refused his body to do so because it was a weakness that would be used against him. He had hoped that he had managed to keep a poker face, however that Mirror had always been able to see through everything.

Trying to get over his anxiety attack and managing to catch his breath, he finally noticed that the courtyard here in this Realm was much different from the one in the Anti-Disney World. The courtyard he knew was constantly flooded in rain and gloom, this place though it looked abandoned and not very well kept flourished with life from the plants, the animals that bobbed and weaved under the bushes, and proved to be a happy place. He pressed his back down against the wall and slid to the ground where he sat in the shade. He closed his eyes and just listened to the sounds to calm his heart.

"Are you all right?" a voice that cooed like a dove came from above him. "Are you sick or hurt?"

He opened his eyes an a little scullery maid dressed in tattered rags bent down to look at him. She was tiny, both in size and stature, with black curly hair held back by a bandana, doe brown eyes, and full apple red lips. All of her features stood out because of her snow white skin, it made her very beautiful.

"I am fine," he heaved a breath to still his heart. "Just a minor spell."

"Oh my goodness," she put her tiny hand to her mouth. "Would you like me to fetch you a pale of water?"

He wanted to say no, but if he said yes she would leave and it would give him a chance to escape.

"Yes," he spoke, much weaker than he realized. His voice was shaky and the world was currently spinning.

"Just stay here, I'll be right back!" She stood and trotted off in her clogs with a wooden pale. Not that he could really go anywhere if he wanted to. He had had an anxiety attack and it had literally rocked his world. He just needed a small moment of rest. . .

"Here!" she panted and actually had a metal ladle banging around in the bucket. She squatted next to him, spooned the ladle into the water, and with a hand held under the ladle to catch the drips she held the ladle to his lips.

He slightly glared at her for overly attending to him, but he did not reject the water and was pleasantly surprised that it was cool and refreshing. He drank the whole spoonful. His heart eased and the world finally settled down into one place.

"Are you all right now?" Those big brown eyes were full of concern. "You've gained a little color back in your cheeks." She looked like she wanted to reach out and touch his cheek, but she hesitated and placed her hand back in her lap.

"Yes," he nodded and sat up. "Thank you."

"I'm so glad," she gave a small sigh of relief. "You were terribly pale. You were paler than me, and that it really saying something." She giggled and he felt the corner of his mouth tug upwards.

"How exactly did you find me?" he asked and looked around. Unless you had managed to climb the wall, he was tucked away around a corner on the other side of some bushes.

"I was doing some chores out here." Her cheeks flushed a soft pink as she fidgeted with her fingers. "You see, despite how hard I work I almost always tend to mess something up. But I have a small garden over there that I tend to." She pointed over her shoulder in a direction that he did not pay attention to. "No one ever comes to the courtyard since the gardener passed, and well this has always been my favorite place; my secret hide out you could say."

"I know the feeling." He raised an eyebrow at her and could not help but wonder just how a woman as beautiful as she was stuck as a scullery maid. She turned her head at him and smiled and he thought he felt his own cheeks flush again. "Did you by chance get lost?" she cocked her head to the side.

"Lost?"

"You see, very few people ever come here," she placed her hand on the grass. "The only people who come here are trying to hide from their chores, or they're lost. You see, I've never seen you here before, and you're so nicely dressed. I just assumed that you were lost."

"I suppose you could say that," he gave a shrug and pulled his knees to his chest. "It is quite a nice little spot."

"Oh yes, it most certainly is," she beamed up at him. "It is especially nice to lay out at night under the sky to see the stars."

"I will have to try that the next time that I visit." He gave her a polite smile before putting his hands on his knees and standing.

"Next time?" she looked curious. "You mean you aren't staying here?"

"Not this evening," he shook his head. "I have my own set of chores that I need to attend to."

"Oh, well, would you like me to guide you back to the main hall?" she pushed herself off of the ground and dusted herself off.

"No, that won't be - " he stopped and thought about it for a moment. Although he knew this place in the Anti-World, it would be nice to have someone give him more details of this Realm. "Actually, I think I will take you up on that offer. This castle is rather big."

"Yes, it is," she nodded and picked up her small basket of tulips and roses. "Just follow me."

Standing next to her, he being six foot two, he felt like a giant because of how tiny she was. She was maybe five foot, perhaps even four foot nine, regardless she was small. As she guided him back to the main hall, some servants stopped and stared at them as they walked past. Their heights had obvious differences and it made Adam feel rather self-conscious. She did an excellent job taking him back to the main hall because she knew even more shortcuts than he did.

"Here we are," she stood behind a column and held her arm out to the hall. "This will take you back to the front gates where you'll be able to exit the castle."

"Thank you very much, madam," he bowed and she laughed softly.

"It was a pleasure, sir," she curtsied for him elegantly and rather surprised him. "I hope to see you on your next visit!"

"As do I, madam," he nodded at her. "So do I."

He turned quickly and began to make his long trek back up the mountain.

He took note of the trees, rocks, and plants to create a mental map in his head for his next route when he would return. He passed the stream, hiked through the forest, and eventually found his way back to the Door Between Realms.

He sat on a large mound of roots, pulled out his field journal, quill, and inkwell and began to write again.

_February 9_

_Field Mission One:_

_Examine area. - Complete  
The land is full of natural resources and teeming with life.  
The DBR (Door Between Realms) was high in the thick forests on the mountains._

_Find subject and weakness. - Incomplete.  
Subject was nowhere to be seen, nor was there any mention of her from any of the servants or the civilians._

_Find the Evil Queen - Complete  
Found the Original Villain in her Realm, practically ready for the change to begin.  
She was very open to the idea of having a chance to change her future.  
Also found the Mirror on the wall.  
She has sent me to return to my realm so I may find out what she did and how to fix things._

He snapped the journal closed and tucked it away in his coat pocket before entering the Door Between Realms to return to the Castle.

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_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it!_

_I know that this is rather a slow start, but thank you for reading and I promise to post more soon! Snow White is rather an interesting character to write for. Also in this story, Snow White is going to be about twenty since Adam Apple Poison (please read Another Chance for Disney Villains for more details) is twenty five for my series. I don't like huge age gaps. ^_^;;;_

_Anyways, Stay tuned for more!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

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Chapter Four

When he stepped through the Door Between Realms he arrived in the dark room again. It was only when he stepped on the ground that the stain glass floors began to glow. He stood for only a moment and saw that his door was the only one floating in the room. The door shut behind him and he took that as his cue to continue forward. His footsteps echoed in the room and the door that would take him to the wardrobe seemed to only get farther away with each new step that he took.

When he finally reached the door he was all too familiar with the gloominess of rain and night that greeted him as he stepped outside of the wardrobe. Other than a cat that was scribbling away on paper with the tip of its tail, he was the only one in the room. The black cat looked at him with big bored green eyes then proceeded to continue writing with its tail. Not entirely sure what the purpose of the cat was, he merely walked past it and continued his way. He looked up at the grandfather clock that sat ticking and nearly froze in place when he saw the time. It was only 11:06 am. He had barely been in the closet for an hour!

Part of him wanted to run back in there to find the lovely scullery maid and speak to her again and get information on Snow White, but he reconsidered his options and decided to find Ms. Scatter or Mr. V to report to. He walked down the halls and ignored the ghosts that followed him down the hall.

"Master Adam," he did stop at his name and turned to see a male servant standing straight behind him. The man was bald, frowning, and almost skeletal, but he was very well dressed.

"Do you need something? You are traveling at quite a fast pace." His voice was wobblily as he spoke.

Adam merely stared at him before finally deciding that he actually worked here and that he would, or at least should, know how to find Ms. Scatter.

"I need to report to Ms. Scatter that I have returned." He said bluntly. "Can you take me to see her so that I may report to her?"

I can take you, however. . ." his old arms shook as he spoke.

But at the current moment he and the rest of the staff is to leave Ms. Scatter undisturbed." The cat from the bench prodded over. Adam blinked. "Ms. Scatter is at a very important appointment and more than likely will not be able to take reports or appointments for several hours."

"And just who are you, cat?" Adam's eyebrow rose as he looked down at the mammal.

"I am Varuo." The black cat sat down and his tail tapped on the floor agitatedly. "I am Ms. Scatter's assistant. I make sure things happen even when she is not around."

"I see." Adam did not entirely expect this, but even in the world of Anti-Disney he should not be surprised by talking animals or the roles that they played in society. Perhaps it was because the Evil Queen herself did not keep any animals that this still a surprise to him. "Then I suppose that means that I report to you then?"

"Yes," the cat almost seemed to smirk at him. "That would mean you would report to me."

Very well," Adam kept as still as possible. "I would like to report my return as well as to request permission to return to the field."

Why do you want to return to your field?" his tail flicked behind him.

"Since I was only gone an hour," his teeth stuck together as he glared at the cat. "I wish to do more field work to study the area better."

"All right," the cat stretched out its front paws. "Do whatever you want, just make sure you're back by 6. Mr. V is very particular about having dinner on time."

"As you wish," he nodded his head strode back over to the wardrobe and stopped as Jane suddenly stepped out.

She was breathing hard and looked all around the room and tried to remember where she was.

"Miss Jane," the butler creaked as he walked over to her. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she twisted her head away so her hair shielded her face for only a moment. Adam held a hand out to her and with a glare she took it and stood on her own two feet again. Adam looked to Varuo and saw that he was scribbling something down on his paper again before he approached Jane.

"Was Neverland everything you remembered?" the cat's head twisted to the side.

"Absolutely," she clinked as she walked over to the bench, sat down and crossed her arms and legs.

"Would you like some tea, Miss Jane?" the butler asked.

"No." She looked at him and looked exhausted as if she hadn't slept in days. "If you have any rum, though, I'll take that."

"As you wish, ma'am," he bowed with a creak and in the blink of an eye he had vanished.

Adam did not wish to stay and hear what had happened to her now that he had an opportunity to return to that world full of sun.

When he entered the dark wardrobe, he walked quickly on the stain glass floors and his door immediately floated in anticipation for him to reenter. He did not hesitate to walk through it when his amulet began to glow and slipped inside quickly. When he reentered the Realm, not much time had passed. Adam wanted to return to the castle to see that scullery maid, however, he was not prepared to see the young Evil Queen again. He knew too much of her habits in her old age, he did not want to see or understand her anger when she was youthful. Oil and grease tinged his nose and his head turned to the mines. The dwarves, of course, he had nearly forgotten about the dwarves. They were a key part of Snow White's story. This was his chance to disway them from wanting to take any sort of action in wanting to help Snow White.

He took a moment to sit on the tree roots, pulled out his field journal and quill, and updated his field journal.

_February 9_

_Field Mission One:_

_Examine area. - Complete  
The land is full of natural resources and teeming with life.  
The DBR (Door Between Realms) was high in the thick forests on the mountains._

_Find subject and weakness. - Incomplete.  
Subject was nowhere to be seen, nor was there any mention of her from any of the servants or the civilians._

_Find the Evil Queen - Complete  
Found the Original Villain in her Realm, practically ready for the change to begin.  
She was very open to the idea of having a chance to change her future.  
Also found the Mirror on the wall.  
She has sent me to return to my realm so I may find out what she did and how to fix things._

_Understand the essence of time in this Realm and the Anti-Disney Realm._

_Disway the dwarves from wanting to assist Snow White._

He snapped the journal closed and set off to the dwarves' mines. For this particular route he merely followed his nose and the loud picking, ticking, and banging that grew louder as Adam approached the cave entrance to the mines.

Railroad tracks started at the entrance of the cave and continued within the dark confines of the mines. Picking of axes, ticking of shovels, banging of rocks being tossed within the minecarts followed by the greasy smell of oil, sweat, and dirt. A sign above the cave read "Dwarves' Mines" and Adam spotted two dwarves talking in the mouth of the cave.

"Now Dopey," the sweet face old bearded one spoke and adjusted his glasses and made weird hand motions as he spoke. "I know you didn't mean any harm, but you know how Grumpy is. He hates it when others touch his tools!"

The dwarf dressed in an oversized green shirt and purple cap made arm motions and pointed in the cave, but the older one just held his hand up.

"No excuses will work for you, Dopey," he sighed and continued to do more hand motions. "You have your own tools, and Grumpy has his. We all have our names on our tools for a reason.

He one called Dopey pouted and his shoulders fell in defeat.

"Did ya give him one fer, Doc?" an angry one dressed in red with a brown cap spat as he joined the two at the mouth of the cave. He crossed his arms and tapped his toe in impatience. The one that had previously been scolding Dopey was the one Adam assumed was called Doc. He heaved a heavy sigh as he turned to the angry one.

"Yes Grumpy, I told him not to mess with your tools." He put his hands on his hips and stared down Grumpy. "But you ought to know better than to leave your tools just lying around!"

"I dun told you," he spat again, "that I didn't leave my tools out. He bolted to the closet and knocked them all down and started using mine!"

"Regardless," Doc waved his hand to silence Grumpy. "Find a better place for your tools and get back to digging."

Grumpy glared at Doc and then Dopey before he spat again, picked up his pickaxe, and entered the mines. Doc ran his hands down his face and groaned.

"It's only ten in the morning and you two are already starting nonsense!" This time he did not make hand motions as he spoke before he too entered the mines. Only Dopey remained outside as he sat down looking dejected. Adam took note of the time that the dwarf had mentioned and was relieved to cross another field report mission off his list.

_Two hours difference between this Apfel Realm and the Anti-Disney Realm. This Realm being two hours behind._

Could not help but find the bunch to be rather odd. That was only three out of the seven, he could only imagine what the others were like. He shook his head and stood from his hiding spot in a blackberry bush. He would find someplace else to explore and discover. However, as he stepped away from the bush, he stepped on leaves and twigs and Dopey's head snapped up to him.

Adam stood very still. If he was lucky, Dopey would be as blind as he was deaf. Luck was not in his favor because Dopey made a weird gargled noise and ran into the mines. With the deaf dwarf out of side going to sound the alarm, Adam took his leave. He ran through the forest blindly before he eventually came to a small clearing where a small cottage stood. It was a very small cottage. It was as if it were a house built for children. Adam stood just as tall as the house and he knew just from looking at it that he would not be able to stand inside the house. Despite its size the house was very well made, hand carved details everywhere, and sturdy to boot. For investigation sake he peeked inside the house and was immediately disgusted by the filth that had accumulated within the home.

He shook his head up and left the premises of the cottage and continued on his journey. Apfel has proven to be a rather odd, but happy of sorts of a place. He only wished that he could visit here at his own leisure and not on missions for murdering a princess.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading!_

_For those of you who are curious, or for those of you who know Apfel is literally the German word (according to Google) for apple. I wanted to try to make the Realm a little more believable, but I was not entirely sure how to go about it since there is so little that Disney did with Snow White._

_Apfel is the name I decided to give to the Realm of Snow White, and hey it's pretty fitting, don't you think? _

_Thank you for coming along for the journey, stay tuned for more!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

* * *

Chapter Five

Adam stayed out until three in the afternoon to take as many notes as possible of the area. He wanted to get more information about the city of Apfel, but he was wary of entering and the Queen finding out that he had yet to find out about any sort of information of her mistakes with Snow White. In the few hours he had been in the area he had learned the land, the resources, and even found a few good spots to camp should he ever be stuck in this Realm for a really long time.

Since this Realm was two hours behind the Anti-Disney Realm Adam decided to return to the castle for dinner and to gain more information about the Queen. It was rather odd how she had never truly spoke of what had happened with she and Snow White. Queen Grimhilde was a jealous, zealous, and truly vain Villain. He was not entirely sure of her age, but he definitely knew she was ancient. How else would she have survived for this long?

On certain occasions he found her sucking the youth from foolish town girl in the Anti-Realm to try to regain some of her youth back. She only ever sucked youth from females, more than likely because of their chemical and physical makeup. The one and only time she ever tried to suck his own youth away had ended terribly and set her back about five hundred years. Adam always had to wear an extra layer of clothes, buttoned up high to the neck, no skin except for his face to ever be exposed. When the Evil Queen Grimhilde created him in her cauldron she literally made him from her poison apple recipe, which left him with a toxic skin that could never be touched by others. If his skin ever came into contact with humans, animals, insects, and even nature they would wither away, burn, melt, or die of suffocation depending on how intense his emotions were. He liked to live his life void of other human and species contact.

Climbing the mountain for the third time, he exited this Realm through the Door Between Realms and entered the Anti-World. As he arrived, the grandfather clock was dinging the hour of five o'clock. Varuo was curled up on the bench and peeked an eye open at him. "So you've finally returned?" he mumbled.

"So it would seem." Adam merely watched as the cat stretched with a yawn before sing the tip of his tail to write down something.

"Dinner is at six." He yawned as he curled up in a ball now that he had finished his business with him.

Adam continued on his way and exited the room with the wardrobe. As he exited, the old butler from before stood outside the door, as if he was waiting for him.

"Master Adam" he spoke in his wobblily voice. "You have returned. Do you need anything, sir?"

"Yes, actually." Adam nodded. "I need to go to the library to do a little research for my current mission. I have learned a lot today, but I am sorely missing a few pieces that I need to complete the mission."

"But of course, Master Adam," he gave a shaky smile and began to shuffle his feet into a walk. "Please follow me, Master Adam."

The man walked much faster than Adam had expected and was pleasantly surprised to see how close the library was. For as large as this castle was it seemed like all the doors moved around a lot; that or this place was more magical than he realized. The butler bowed politely having served his purpose, then disappeared when Adam blinked.

Upon entering the library he spotted Dalmatia sitting in a large fluffy chaise, ankles crossed as he looked through what looked like old fashion magazines. It was rather alarming at how silent this fool was for how loud he was and how long he had kept Adam up last night. He certainly liked to talk and it was rather difficult to shut him up once he got going. Adam walked past him quietly and, much to his surprise, he had gone completely unnoticed. Starting in the Storybook section he went to Row Q aisle, he started to look for the Evil Queen or even Queen Grimhilde.

Skimming the shelves, he quickly found the book that had all of the Queens in Disney and found Grimhilde, though with that said, there was little to tell about her in summary he saw that she was a royal from the neighboring county who married the widower king and became the queen. She was full of youth and beauty, but her negative feelings of jealousy and vanity towards Snow White were the real reason as to why she became the ugly old hag that Adam came to know.

_Odd, the Evil Queen never once mentioned being jealous of Snow White, only that the little brat had apparently stolen her youth and beauty and used it to turn everyone against her. . ._

Adam placed the book back on its shelf and continued to search, but never truly found anything about the Evil Queen, or Queen Grimhilde. He frowned at the fact that there was little information on her. With a soft sigh he quietly stepped over to the Row S aisle and checked Snow White's profile. Other than her story and a nice profile written about her, there was little to no information given about her other than she is awakened from her spell with a kiss.

_For a library of the Anti-World in the Castle there sure was quite a lack of information._

Adam frowned and placed the book back on the shelf and began to wander over to the history section when the butler from before stood in his path.

"It is time for dinner, Master Adam." He spoke in a whisper so low that Adam was surprised he even heard it despite how silent the library was. He only blinked and looked to the clock on the wall and saw that it was 5:50 pm. "This way, Master Adam," the man spoke and shuffled his way out of the library. With no choice, Adam merely followed the butler and rejoined the other Recruits for dinner in the main hall.

There was clattering of silverware on the plates, talking echoing around the room, obnoxious laughter in the air, and an excited buzz form his fellow Recruits. He sat in his seat across from Jane who was seriously ignoring any sort of conversation to be had to eat her meal. Mr. V and Ms. Scatter were discussing something in heated whispers and kept glaring then smiling at one another. Adam shook his head and found himself thankful that Jane was silent for her meal since the buffoon Jack beside him was ever so boisterous as he spoke around was the poor fool who was caught in the middle of Jack and Dalmatia's conversation, though he didn't seem to mind since he kept staring at himself in his mirror.

Adam picked at his food, it was quail and apples again; he hated quail. He could stomach the apples, but he hated the texture of the quail.

"How is the food, Adam?" Mr. V asked, almost as if he were avoiding more conversation with Ms. Scatter. Adam raised an eyebrow at this as he saw Ms. Scatter fume and her eyes turn red.

"It is fine," he pushed the quail around his plate. "The apples are delicious."

"Not a fan of quail?" he raised an eyebrow at him with a curious smile.

"Not particularly, no." He put his fork down.

"Would you like anything else, then?"

"Not this evening," he shook his head. "I'd have to think on what I would rather have. Just preferably not quail."

"Very well then." He gave a shrug and looked to Ms. Scatter. "I'll have Ms. Scatter send you a menu list so you can choose what you would like or have a preference to."

"Thank you?" he raised his eyebrow as he watched Ms. Scatter scribbled something down on her clipboard.

"How did your mission go today, Adam?" Mr. V asked as he sipped his whiskey.

"I gained much field knowledge of the Realm of Apfel, however. . . I know nothing of the Evil Queen or Snow White."

"What's odd. . ." Mr. V's brows furrowed. "The Evil Queen didn't tell you what happened?"

"No," he shook his head. "She only ever spoke of her successes, never her failures."

"Ah, I see." He nodded and took another shot of whiskey.

"I tried looking in the library before dinner, but even then I discovered very little. Nothing at all really since I already knew of the information that was written." He frowned. "I can understand with the Queen since she probably came from a more ancient time, however, it is rather odd with Snow White since she is a popular princess in the Disney world."

"You'll have to do more field work to discover the story then."

"Is the story not in the library?"

"Not currently, no." He put his hands on the table. "But none of y'all's stories are."

"What do you mean by that?" Jane glared up at Mr. V as he stood and began his walk around the table. What an odd habit of his. . .

"Exactly as I stated, Jane," he smirked rather nervously. "You see, part of the contract that your Original Villains signed was to tuck their stories away as well as the princesses, fashionistas, princes, and other protagonists."

"Any why is that?" Jane demanded as she stood. "How else are we supposed to complete our missions of Happy Endings?!"

"That is the point there, Miss Jane," he smirked and she snarled at him. "The Happy Endings are to be for you Recruits, not the Villains. The Villains have each received their own second, third, and even fourth chances and have all screwed them up at different times. You each have had to pay for the penalties in your own way. Now I'm giving you your own chance to find your own Happy Ending. That being said. . ." He circled back to his seat and stood with his hands on his cane. "The stories had to be taken away so that you could all decide your own fate without any bias towards your Villains."

Silence spread around the room.

Jane, being agitated already, snatched her bottle of rum and a glass and stormed out of the room. Mr. V made no motion to stop her and allowed her to leave the dining room.

"How much of this was truly in the contract?" Adam finally asked. "There is no way that the Villains would have so easily signed those contracts knowing that we could have our own Happy Endings."

"Oh contrary, monme," he chuckled. "There was no clause stating that they were the only ones having their Happy Ending. If you choose your own happiness over theirs, it is all the better for you because ultimately the Villains will have their own Happy Endings of sorts."

Adam's head began to ache with all this ridiculous nonsense. His head ever so carefully rested in his hand as he tried to process this. Too much was at stake, and despite the possibility of Adam having his own Happy Ending, just what exactly was that supposed to be?

He had never once been allowed to think for himself and only did as commanded. Now that he was given a choice of what to do, he felt more lost than he ever had before.

Just what was supposed to be his Happy Ending when nothing in this world made him happy?

The Evil Queen had done everything in his life to ensure that he did not have any secret pleasures or enjoyment out of life.

His only purpose was to serve her. . .

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it!_

_What indeed is supposed to be his happy ending? Hhhmmmm~~?_

_Stay tuned for more!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

* * *

Chapter Six

Adam too stood up and escaped to his own room. He thought he heard someone calling after him, but he just darted to his room and locked himself in. The varying shades of dark blues instantly calmed him and his ever growing anxiety. He double locked the door behind him before he shucked off his coat, hung it on the coatrack and walked over to the side of his bed.

Mr. V had been too kind in giving him the largest room, especially since he did not have enough stuff to fill the entire space. He had immediately requested a room design change because he was absolutely appalled by the dungeon themed room they originally had for him. He had not been able to sleep properly because he was too paranoid that the old hag was going to enter and torture him.

The walls had been changed from stone to painted blue walls and high ceilings and large windows. A king size four poster bed sat on the far wall with a matching wardrobe that he used for his one coat and few shirts. A deep red rug rested underneath the bed and kept his feet from touching the cold dark wooden floors. Despite how little there was in his room, he enjoyed having the wide open space and his own bathroom. Although Mr. V had said there was a bathroom that he could share with the other males, a full installed bathroom with toilet, shower, bath, and sink were all at his own disposal due to his toxic skin condition and how it would affect the others.

The hike up and down the mountain had gotten to him and his body ached for a shower. He carefully took his boots off and set them at the end of his bed beside his footlocker. He proceeded to take his gloves off and set them within the drawer of his nightstand alongside his field journal. He unbuttoned his shirt and draped it over the footboard of his bed. With his pants still on he stepped into his personal bathroom and drew himself a bath.

He had hated baths before because of the small food trough that he had been forced to bath in, but he had a full tub in which he could soak and relax his sore and scarred body. While the water ran he poured in some of the potions that had been supplied to him and added bubbles to the tub. As the water rose he took off his pants and set them on the bathroom counter where he begrudgingly saw his reflection in the mirror. He hated mirrors. The Magic Mirror liked to torment him and moved from his own mirror to any of the other mirrors throughout the castle. The Magic Mirror often mocked him for his failures and reminded him of his failures with each of his scars on his body.

He glared into the mirror as he saw the varying scars etched down his chest, arms, naval and legs. He knew his back had scars from all of the lashings he had received in training and did not wish to see how terrible it was. The one he had received on his arms were from the poisoned knives and needles that she had tested on him over the years. The jagged ones down his chest was from a lightening storm she had conducted and forced him to camp out in. The scars on his naval and legs and back were lessons he had learned in battle.

He closed his jet black eyes tightly before turning to the bath, opening his eyes, and stepping into the tub. The water was warm and his aching body slid in and submersed itself in its magical healing. He watched as his toxins swirled and pooled around him in inky black masses. He hated seeing that. It made him feel even more dirty and tainted that he already was. Closing his eyes again, he leaned his head back against the edge of the tub and just soaked to cleanse his body and mind. His mind had drifted off to the words of the old hag before they parted ways:

_"Now remember, Apple Poison," she grabbed him by the collar. "You are to kill Snow White and to make sure that she never wakes up. WE can't be happy until she is dead. Do you hear me? Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead!" He old and wrinkled hands shook as she held him. "Don't you dare go soft, boy. The Mirror knows all, sees, all. Past, present, future. He will see what you do and will report back to me, understand?" An evil grin curled into her nearly toothless smiled. "So if you screw this up and ruin things for me, and you have the gall to come crawling back to me just know that you will wish that you were dead for all the things I'll do to you!" She let out a cackle before she hobbled away on her walking stick and eventually left the Castle._

_His teeth were grit, his eyes shook, his pulse quickened, and he felt sick. He almost vomited from the sheer terror and anxiety she had instilled in him._

A knock came at the door and his eyes flew open.

"Master Adam?" it was the old butler. "Master Adam, are you in there?"

"Yes," he ran a hand through his black hair and tugged on the ends to relieve his stress. "What do you want?"

"May I come in, Master Adam?"

"No." Adam said firmly. "Give me a moment, I'll be out soon."

"Take your time," his voice grew farther away as he stepped from the door.

Feeling obligated to end his bath early, Adam grabbed the bar of soap, suds it up quickly to do a quick scrub and practically dove underneath the water to rinse off. He pulled the plug when he resurfaced and quickly dried himself off and wrapped himself in the bathrobe that had been provided for him.

When he stepped out the butler had laid a fresh pair of pajamas on the bed and had picked up his dirty clothes; he had magically already had his pants.

"Don't touch those!" Adam went to grab for the clothes, but the butler merely shook his head.

"It is all right, Master Adam. I am used to poisons of all sorts," he gave a wry wrinkly smile. "Even poisoned apples. Your toxins won't affect me."

He raised an eyebrow at him and the man merely smirked.

"Just who are you?"

"Oh, terribly sorry, Master Adam," he straightened up and looked disgruntled. "I should have introduced myself in the beginning. I am Frederick Vonmagick, your own personal butler."

"I beg your pardon?" Adam blinked at him.

"You see, sir." He continued. "Due to your special condition and no one else but you and I can do your laundry and clean your room, I have been assigned to assist you in your duties, your mission, and cleaning."

"That is not necessary - "

"Oh, but it is." He wagged his wrinkled finger at him. "We can't just let anyone touch your things, they'd be hurt or killed. We're already relatively understaffed right now since the younger generation doesn't know how to work nor do they want to work. So the helping hands is limited." A genuine smile crept up on the old man's face. "Besides, if I don't help and assist you, I'll be out of a job."

Adam only sighed at this, but did not persist in arguing.

"Very well, then I look forward to having your services, Mr. Frederick."

"As do I, Master Adam." He picked up Adam's shirt and socks and draped them over his arm. "Do you need anything else this evening, sir?"

"No, Frederick." He shook his head. "I believe that I am going to go bed."

"Very well," he shuffled to the door. "Goodnight, Master Adam."

"Good night, Frederick." The old man shuffled out of the room and left Adam alone in his room. The black and blue flannel pajamas were soft and he already knew that they would keep him warm through the warm nights. He changed and enjoyed the feeling of the material before he crawled into bed and blew out the candle.

He had no idea what to make of having his own personal butler, but the man seemed honest and genuine enough that he could possibly be trusted. For how old he was, Adam had hoped that he maybe knew something about the Queen and Snow White. He would try to ask him about it tomorrow before he returned to Apfel. He would need some sort of information about the Queen and he plans to alter them somehow.

A sigh escaped him as thoughts and plans spun in his head. He closed his eyes and took slow breathes to dispel the thoughts, quiet his mind, and lull him into a deep sleep.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying this and will contiue to join me on this journey!_

_Apple Poison has been rather difficult to write about, but it is also really interesting to work with him. Have any of you been discovering the other Disney Recruiters? Please let me know if you have!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Adam awoke to an insane lightning and thunder storm outside of his window. Although he was very much used to stormy weather and all of the obnoxious noises the weather made to accommodate the Anti-World's lack of sun, some times when it got out of hand it bothered Adam. The Evil Queen often locked him in the dungeons on terribly stormy nights and the dungeons flooded, there had been one to many times that he had nearly drowned.

As the rain thrashed against his window and the lightning only seemed to scream for him to awaken, Adam sat up in his bed and looked around him. He had forgotten where he was. Although this room was very much his dream room of sorts, he still felt rather out of place in it. He doubled checked on either side of his bed to make sure that there was no flooding before stepping out of bed, sliding on the pair slippers that Frederick had left there some time in the night and quietly shuffled to the dining hall. Maybe he'd find something to eat in there before everyone was awake. He glanced at the grandfather clock against the wall; it was 5:25am. He'd have gotten up in an hour anyways, but oh well.

With the exception of his house slippers slapping the floors as he walked Adam was mostly quiet and enjoyed the morning to himself. When he entered the dining hall he had not anticipated anyone else being awake. It was Captain Hook's Recruit, Jane, he thought; he did not try to get to know any of the other Recruits because they were all too young and he had a mission to focus on not socializing. Still he was surprised that she was up, Jane did not exactly strike him as a morning person. Three bottles of rum sat on the table next to a single half empty whiskey glass. She was leaning back in her chair with her feet propped up on the table, her hand firmly holding the glass, but her head leaning back. She reeked of the alcohol.

"You should know that that is terrible for you," She jumped and threw a knife at him that Adam merely side stepped to avoid. The knife planted itself into the wall behind him.

"Fuck you," she hissed and glared at him.

"No thank you, madam." He grasped the knife from the wall and pulled it free. A nice little hole was now in the dead blue wall. "What are you doing up this early?"

"I don't sleep." She poured herself more in her glass then took it back like a shot. "But that shouldn't mean a damn thing to you."

"It doesn't." He gave a shrug and began looking for a way to make tea or coffee. He continued about his way when suddenly there was another shuffling of footsteps behind him, a gurgled sound, and the worst sound of vomit ejecting from someone's mouth. He looked over his shoulder to find Frederick holding a bucket and Jane's hair and Jane's head shoved into it as she was vomiting.

"Good morning, Master Adam." He spoke ever so politely.

"Morning?" He raised an eyebrow at him.

"I saw that you had left your room and assumed that you would want your morning coffee." Jane gently patted his hand, pushed herself up, and saw back in her chair.

"Sorry. . ." She gurgled and held a hand to her forehead and the other to her stomach. "Fucking hell. . ."

"That is not the language a young lady should be speaking," Frederick sighed and snapped his fingers. A taller and younger butler and a petite maid appeared out of thin air and stood behind Frederick. "Alexander, Natasha," he spoke politely. "Please escort Ms. Jane back to her room and give her the medicine she will need to take for her nausea and headache. And keep plenty of buckets nearby so she doesn't ruin the floors, please."

The servants nodded in response. Alexander scooped her up while Natasha scooped up the bucket and held it out at arms length. Frederick looked at the bottles of rum and shook his head. With another snap of his fingers the glass and bottles disappeared.

"You would like your morning coffee, sir?" he smiled at him and a tray magically appeared on the table. Adam merely blinked.

"How do you do that?" he asked.

"Oh, the magic?" he merely chuckled. "Trade secret, I'm afraid I've sworn to secrecy and can't tell you."

"I don't entirely believe that," he glared and crossed his arms. "I just want to know how I can make coffee in my room whenever necessary."

"Oh, I can easily arrange that," he pulled out a seat and poured two cups of coffee from the tea pot. "I'll have it in your room this evening when you've returned from your mission."

"Make sure it stays in there at all times." He took his seat and took his cup. "I'd also like an assortment of black teas as well. I like to have tea in the evening before I sleep. It helps keeps the nightmares at bay."

"Yes, Master Adam." He took his own cup and sat across from him. "How were things in Apfel yesterday?"

Adam merely blinked and stared at him. He had said nothing about his mission to him or anyone else yesterday.

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry, I suppose I should try to explain." He stuck out his pinky and took a sip of his own coffee, scrunched his nose before adding both cream and sugar. "As you well know, and have probably already seen, all of the Recruits are given a servant of sorts to write down or tell us needs and wants. Which speaking of which" He dug into his inner coat pocket and slid over the menu list Adam had yet to fill out. "Please fill this out so that way the cooks will know what to make you for dinner."

Adam huffed, but took it and circled just a few things he had never tried and a few things that he actually liked to eat, then slid the menu list back over to Frederick.

"Thank you, Master Adam, now I shall continue." He took another sip from his coffee before setting it back onto the saucer. "As your servant I am to know everything about you and to take your field journals to Ms. Scatter so that she can log them into her giant system. However, yesterday I fell and the journal fell open. . ." He slid the field journal over to Adam. "You have impeccable handwriting, I was genuinely surprised, though I suppose I shouldn't be given who your Villain is. . . She is very particular in the way she wants things done."

Although this was a rather well known feature about the Queen, only those who have suffered her wrath for her obsessive compulsive order truly understand how particular she was. There were only a small handful of people who know this : Adam, since he had suffered her wrath several times before; Snow White before she because a temptress and escaped to the dwarves; and the only other person who suffered was the Hunter. . .

"And you know this how?" Adam looked over his own cup of coffee.

"Well, I am from Apfel." Adam swallowed too quickly. "I've actually been employed by the Queen Grimhilde herself."

"What position were you employed as?"

Frederick opened his mouth to speak, but a certain tapping of his cane prevented him from doing so.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Mr. V smiled as he twirled his cane, pulled his seat out at the head of the table. "How are we doing this early in the morning?"

"Just fine, Mr. V," Frederick sighed and pushed himself to a stand. "Just having a morning chat about my position as his butler."

"Ah, fantastic! That's one less thing that I'll have to do." He tapped his cane and his own bottle of Jack Daniels and coffee appeared on the table. "I didn't know you were such an early riser, Adam."

"Almost always. . . " Adam sipped his coffee and Frederick managed to escape from the dining hall. "It is much easier to plan the day whenever there is quiet."

"Too bad that there isn't a sun to light the sky here," Mr. V poured his whiskey into his coffee and loudly clattered his spoon in his cup as he blended the two together.

"Yes. . ." His eyes narrowed as he tried to decide what Mr. V's motives could be in trying to make the small talk. "How soon can I get started on my field mission for the day?"

"Oh, as early as you want," he gave a shrug, leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the table. "Though, depending on the time change I don't think you'd want to be there too early.

"I just need coffee before I leave." He finished the rest of his coffee and stood.

"Not one to waste time, are ya, kiddo?" he chuckled as Adam walked past him. "Just remember to be back by 6!"

Much to his surprise, Frederick was waiting outside of the door of the dining hall for him.

"Are you leaving already, Master Adam?" he asked and shuffled in behind him.

"Yes," the thunder rolled overhead and mad him quicken his pace. "I'm not particularly in a mood to be around the other Recruits today."

"Understood sir," he nodded. "Should I prepare you anything to eat to take with you?"

"No." He just walked down the long halls and corridors that led to the room with the wardrobe. "I'll just buy stuff while I'm in Apfel to add to my field journal."

"Interesting choice," Frederick hummed behind him. "Well then, take this with you." A small leather pouch appeared in his hand. "This is the Apfel currency and this should hopefully be enough for any expenditures you should want to make today."

Adam snatched the bag and turned to the wardrobe to leave the dark Anti-Realm and return to the sun filled Apfel Realm. From darkness to rainbow colors to another dark filled sky passed Adam as he left the wardrobe and entered the Apfel Realm.

When he entered Apfel the sky was an odd pinky color, though the sun was not up. The Door Between Realms shut quietly behind him and Adam could only stare at the sky as he watched this world wake up. Ever so slowly the sun climbed the sky and the sky's color changed from pink to a lavender blue. Birds began to chirp, squirrels chittered, a rooster in the distance crowed, and even flowers opened their petals to the sun as the sky awakened. A small gust of wind ever so gently blew and even the small insects began to buzz to life. Oh how that warmth felt as the sun's rays touched his face. Adam stood in awe as he watched his very first sunrise and felt a small ache in his chest as he watched beauty touch the Realm.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope that you have been enjoying the journey!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

* * *

Chapter Eight

Adam stood on the mountain and debated on recording the sunrise, but there was so many details that he would never be able to put it into words. He would keep this moment to himself; if the others wanted to experience something like this, they could discover it on their own field missions.

Judging by the sun it was only 5:30am, so the town would still be waking up. He tried to think of what he would tell Queen Grimhilde, but no matter how he thought to go about it, it would not end very well. She would not be satisfied with whatever answer he gave her that was not what she wanted to hear. Despite the contract that she had signed and the rules that he had to abide by, whatever he told her would most definitely result in one of her helpful reminder punishments. . .

Whistling and singing of "Hi Ho" in the distance broke his train of thought. He looked over to the right and saw the dwarves, all seven of them lined from oldest to youngest; though Adam could not entirely tell which one was the oldest since they all had long, gray, and scraggly beards. The youngest was the easiest to see since he had no hair on his head, nor his face. On of the few cursed to have smooth skin for the entirety of his life it seemed. As he watched them from his position high on the cliff of the mountain, the youngest one, Dopey, looked up at him and stopped his frivolous march with the others. He seemed ever so curious to see Adam again and tilted his head to the left a little before giving a small wave with his sleeve. Adam made no attempt to return the gesture and turned to walk away.

Surely if these dwarves were awake, the baker would be awake as well.

He routed a much easier course to the city of Apfel and was pleasantly surprised to see the entire town was awake. From the country most of the farmers already set to plowing their fields; mothers squawked orders for their children to do their morning chores; the men saddled horses and pulled their carts of fresh fruit and vegetables into town. Several of the farmers offered Adam a ride saying absurd things like: "It's not good for a noble to be seen walkin'."

"It is still a long ways away, it really ain't no trouble."

"Yo're gonna mess up those pretty clothes if ya keep walkin' sir."

Adam found it very odd that so many people were concerned with his clothes, but when he looked at his well fitted clothes to the weather worn, ragged, and conditioned clothes of the passerbys and farmers he slowly began to understand that if he was going to fit into this world he would need to fit the part.

He quickly wrote down in his field journal a small note:

_"Have Frederick get more peasant looking clothes so I can walk around unnoticed."_

He would make sure to have more simple clothes here for the following day. Even as he strode into town he showed the Queen's seal, was admitted into the kingdom's walls once again and received many stares and comments about his attire. His face felt flushed as he walked, but he kept his head held high as he walked higher than the others around. He could smell some sort of bread baking in the air and he followed his nose to a bakery where he went to a cul-de-sac of shops that were already bustling with customers. From left to right the circle of shops went: Bakery, Smithy, Jewelers, Stables, Livestock. In between the bakery and the smithy he could see an alleyway that opened up into a farmer's market where several of this morning's farmers were spewing prices for buyers.

Adam's stomach growled as he stood in the shadows and he debated on going into the bakery. A small person suddenly bumped into him from behind. When he turned to see who it was, the person was picking themselves up off of the ground. A basket was tipped over on the ground a few apples were spilled around the small woman.

"Owww," she winced and sat up and rubbed her knee. She looked up and saw Adam. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, did I run into you?"

Adam had to blink. It was the scullery maid from yesterday.

"I am all right," he watched as she scurried to scoop up her apples.

"Oh, that is so good," she smiled as she carefully cleaned each of the apples that had spilled from the basket on her raggedy looking shawl. "I was in such a hurry and I didn't see you. You aren't hurt anywhere?"

"No, I am fine." He saw a shiny red apple beside his foot. He bent down, picked it up the apple and handed it to her. Her big brown eyes blinked in surprise before she smiled sweetly at him. "What are you doing out here?" He stood and subconsciously helped her to her own feet.

_Since when did he do such gentlemanly acts?_

"Oh, I'm here to give a few of my precious apples to the baker." She beamed. "He bakes the best apple pies and I almost always get one whenever he bakes one. Then I go and give it to the other servants to eat for all of their hard work."

"You don't keep anything for yourself?" His brows furrowed and she blinked blankly at him.

"Why would I do that?"

"Don't you want a piece of the pie as well?"

"Sometimes," she adjusted the basket on her arm. "But, I don't need it as much as the others."

He had no idea what to make of such a caring and giving person. She was too selfless to him, yet he found himself somehow drawn to this tiny caring person.

As the crowds grew Adam's stomach became restless and growled. The scullery maid merely giggled at the noises his stomach made and took him by the elbow.

"It seems like you could do for a slice of pie too, hmm?" She handed him back the apple that he had picked up. "Here, you should eat this until I get the bread."

One way or another she had roped him into escorting her through the crowd to the bakery. It was easy enough since most of the people moved out of the way for them; it was probably because of how tall he was and how much shorter everyone else was. They weren't the size of dwarves, but they definitely seemed shorter than him. They were now in the center of the bakery and the scullery maid was struggling to move past the huge bodies of people that pushed and shoved one another trying to get to the counter. Although there were three counters for everyone to pay at, they all seemed to want to pay at the one where the actual baker stood at. He pulled out several loaves of bread from his stone stove and Adam's stomach began to naw on his liver. The apple had been juicy and delicious, however, it was definitely not enough to contain the ever growing beast in his belly.

One way or another she had made her way to the counter and slid the apples over to him. He bellowed a laugh and handed her enough small loaves of bread to fill her basket. He even handed her a small pastry that he wrapped in a cloth napkin for her. She gave him a few coins before she escaped the crowd, grabbed Adam's elbow again, and they escaped the bakery. She led him over to a nearby bench where she completely collapsed on.

"I've been doing this everyday for years, but it is somehow always tiring." She laughed lightly. "I know you're still knew to Apfel since you thought you could get into the bakery this early."

"You managed to." He said stiffly as he stood beside her.

"Ah, but I had the bribe to get my baked goods first," She giggled again and hugged her basket. "I hope that everyone else will like these." She pulled the small wrapped pastry from the top of her basket and broke it in half. "Here, you have this!" she held up the half of the pastry still wrapped in the napkin.

"What is it?" he made no motion to reach out for it.

"It is an apple tart, don't you have these where you come from?" He shook his head in response and her eyes widened. "Well then you must simply try this, it is one of Apfel's delicacies!"

She firmly handed the tart over to him began to nibble on her half.

It looked delicious, but in all honesty Adam was not particularly a big fan of apple anything. Although his name was Apple Poison, he detested apples because that is exactly what they tasted like to him, poison. Anytime he held an apple in his bare hands, or if one ever touched his lips it would turn into the skull poison covered apple. Adam had no idea that apples could be used for anything besides poison. He merely stared at the half of the tart that she had given him and noticed her staring at him. He did not want to particularly try it, but at the same time he did. It wasn't like anything in this Realm could actually kill him; except the Queen of course.

He brought the little tart to his lips, smelled cinnamon and sugar, closed his eyes and dared to take a bite. It was surprisingly sweet. Light, fluffy, apple, cinnamon, brown sugar with a slight crunch; and no poison. His eyes widened and he shoved the rest of the tart into his mouth.

"This is delicious!" His eyes widened as he even licked his gloves clean.

"I know, the baker has this magic touch," she did a weird sprinkling motion with her hand. "He makes the best pastries in all of Apfel, though his bread could use a little more leavening."

He did not know what to make of her comment. He knew nothing about bread or pastry making, but he did know that this pastry was the best thing he had ever eaten. Not even the dishes in the Anti-World cold compare to the apple tart he had just eaten.

"What brings you to Apfel?" She asked and fluttered those long lashes and big doe brown eyes at him in such a kitten sort of curiosity.

"Business." He crossed his arms and looked out to the crowds of people and going. "A rather difficult history sort of business."

"History?" her head tilted to the side. "Why would you take the history of Apfel?"

"Because there are some inaccuracies in Apfel's history that needs to be noted and changed." He had to choose his words carefully. He had no idea who this girl was, and he did not need to give away more than he needed.

"I see. . . " Her brows furrowed and she continued to eat the pastry ever so daintily. Moments of silence passed by as Adam tried to plan his next move and decide his next course of action. He more than anything wanted to find a way of staying in the city, or at least having his own sort of lodging whenever necessary so he could somehow recreate the Door Between Realms, or make it easier in terms of travel and transportation.

"Have you tried going to the library yet?" She asked thoughtfully.

"What?" He blinked having hardly heard her.

"The library," She repeated kindly. "Have you gone to the royal library yet?"

"Why would I go there?"

"To gain more information about the history of Apfel," she folded the napkin over her pastry and tucked it away in her basket. "The new Queen Grimhilde will not know as much as the previous King and Queen. The few men that are part of the council change too often for me to keep up with, or I would otherwise tell you to speak to one of them." She stood and dusted off her dusty skirts. "I wish I could help you more, but the only thing that I can do from here is to take you to the royal library."

"As much as I would love to return to the castle," he rolled his eyes, "I have to do a few errands for the Queen before I can simply return."

"You certainly do have a rather difficult business," she said in awe and looked at him in a funny way. Her eyes were glowing, almost as if she admired or respected him.

"My kind of business is never easy," he dragged his hand from behind his neck with a huff.

"Well, do you have a business card, sir?" she stood on the bench and was a little taller, but still much shorter than Adam. She had to be at least 5'4" but even standing on the bench she was still shorter than him.

"Why would I have a business card?"

"For your business, of course," she laughed as though he had told her a joe. He liked her laugh though, it wasn't a cackle or a chortle, it was a melodic laugh that was something he rarely heard.

"I'm afraid that my business is rather confidential." He frowned, but she still kept smiling.

He wasn't sure what all of the terms were with the contract, and he didn't want to take a chance of breaking any of them any time soon.

"May I at least get your name, kind sir?" she smiled sweetly at him, and though it was sickeningly sweet, he didn't hate it either. It was weird, but he kind of liked it.

"Adam," he suddenly found himself forgetting what he had said. "My name is Adam A-Appoi."

"What an unusual name, but I think I like it." She tapped her tiny finger on her chin. He noticed that her porcelain white skin was flawless, not a wrinkle, freckle, pimple, or mole.

"Adam Appoi," The way she said his name caught his attention. She said his name slowly so as to memorize it. "Well then, Sir Adam Appoi, are you ready to visit the royal library yet?"

"I'm afraid now is not a good time for me," he looked down at her. "As I said, I have to gather a bit more information before I can just reenter the castle."

"Well, once you have gathered enough information, seek me out." She pulled her hood over her head. "Until we meet again, Sir Adam Appoi."

Within the blink of an eye she disappeared into the crowd. He tried to keep track of her with his eyes, but between the people and the animals he had lost sight of her.

Sadly now that there was nothing he could do outside of gathering field information, Adam was going to have to return to the castle to see Queen Grimhilde.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have been enjoying this so far!_

_I know that this is a rather short chapter, however, I went out of town this weekend for a con (because I'm secretly a nerd). I have been writing while I take my breaks and in my spare time._

_I am also outlining a few other stories for the other Villain Recruiters. Is there any one character you would be most interested in reading about? Please let me know._

_Thank you for coming along with me on my journey, stay tuned!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

* * *

Chapter Nine

Like a mouse trapped in the maze that he had memorized, Adam began to track his way to the underground tunnels that would eventually lead him to the dungeons of the castle. He noticed with each turn and step he took he was getting farther and farther from the sun. From alleyway to alleyway, he eventually took enough turns to make it to the drain exit of the dungeon. Unlike the Anti-World that was nothing but darkness and hid everything that he did not wish to see, because Apfel had light in it he could see all of the things the Evil Queen did as they ever so casually left from the drain.

Scraps of hair, chips of bones and teeth, remains from intestines and organs and other forms of sewage leaked out from the drains of the castle and emptied their way to the sewers. Regardless of the presences of light showing him where he was, Adam knew where he was simply by the stench and the sounds of muffled screams from within the walls. The Evil Queen used to tell him that she would sometimes entrap or encase bodies of those she tortured into the walls so they would scream and set a reminder to those who disobeyed her.

Taking a deep breath he slipped through the bars and made his way through the sewer tunnels that connected with the dungeon tunnels. Torches lighted by green flames lined the walls as he reached closer to the dungeons. For whatever reason she had decided to use her magic to identify her flames and turn them green. It was helpful here since the other torches were the normal fire orange, however, he wondered how many poor curious souls were stupid enough to walk the paths of these dungeons. . . He reached the main threshold of the dungeons, heard water slipping down the system as well as her cackling. He stayed in the shadows as he watched the Evil Queen, Queen Grimhilde raise her bloody hands and tossed the limp body into a cell. He did not move as he watched her wipe her mouth clean from the blood that dripped down her chin and the few wrinkles that were there magically disappeared and left the skin smooth and flawless. Like a snake shedding her skin, she was all smooth and young looking all over. He waited until she turned her attention to the mirror before he dared step out into the dungeon.

He stealthily stepped into the dungeon, being careful to only step on the certain bricks that he knew were sturdy. Thankfully this dungeon was an exact replica of the Anti-World Dungeon. He knew where all the lose bricks were and which ones would alert her of his presence. That was the last thing he wanted to do after her feeding. Although she was always in a much better mood after her feeding she still was tempted to drink a little more if she had not quite had her fill. Thanks to his poisonous makeup she would not be able to drink much from him if she ever turned on him, however, she could still drink from him and it was the worst form of torture she ever caused him.

He never once believed in things such as vampires, then again in a magical world where everything is possible he should know better. Although she was a witch and not a vampire, she most definitely had vampire tendencies. That was all thanks to her giant book of spells, her grimoire. That grotesque book had all sorts of spells, poisons, potions, and answers to her never ending lust for youth. As he approached the cell that she threw the body in, he half dared to look at it. Judging by the skirts and crisscross apron, it had to have been a maid. The body lay limp, but not entirely lifeless, but her body was partially blue.

Adam found it odd that she had not sucked the body dry, like she normally does as an old hag, then it hit him; she is still experimenting because she doesn't know of the limitations and boundaries yet. It was possibly the best thing he had discovered yet. If she was not entirely in deep with the black magic, there was a chance to burn that book before she added her own entries to it. He shook his head and decided to think on that later and instead inched his way closer to her, but remained silent and in the shadows.

"Mirror, Mirror on the wall," She crooned as she caressed the mirror. "Who is the fairest of them all?"

The green face appeared with a sneering smirk on his face.

"It is you, of course, my Queen." She smiled pleased by this and held up her own hand mirror and admired her own beauty. "However, my Queen, if you continue down this path of Dark Magic, it could end your fairness and beauty sooner than you would like."

"Posh now," she set the mirror down on the vanity beside the mirror. "How could Dark Magic possibly ruin my fairness?"

"You drink the life blood of pure fair maidens," he sighed. "Although it helps you regain your own youth and purity, it corrupts your humanity and your mind."

"Nonsense," she laughed as though the Mirror did not know of what he spoke of. "I will do absolutely everything and anything that I need to do to remain young and beautiful."

"And that is what will remove you from your position as Fairest of Them All."

"You cannot be serious." Her face went from amusement to anger far too quickly.

"Deathly serious, my Queen." He spoke in an ominous voice. "Should you pursue this path of Dark Magic, you shall lost the title and position of being the Fairest of Them All."

"Is it because there are plenty of maidens around in Apfel?" She did not seem to comprehend what the Mirror had already explained.

"No, my Queen."

"Then what is it?"

For the entirety that he knew the Evil Queen he had never known her to be so irrational and incomprehensible. She was always plotting something and did not care what the result was so long as it inflicted harm or achieved her goal. This was the first time that Adam had ever seen the Mirror warning the Queen against doing evil.

"Is your humanity worth the cost of your youth?"

"Absolutely!" She threw her arms down as though she were a child.

"Then no matter what word of caution I give you, you shall not listen," he sighed and closed his eyes tightly. "Then enjoy being the Fairest of Them All while you can."

As if he was finished speaking the face in the Mirror disappeared. The Evil Queen stared indignant at the Mirror and looked ready to break the glass into a million pieces.

"Mirror?" She called in a shaky voice.

There was no response.

"Mirror." Her nostrils flared as she spoke with more determination.

There was still no response.

"Mirror, I demand that you answer me!" She smacked the wall beside the Mirror and made it shake.

There was still no response.

A high pitched shrill escaped her as she raged and pitched a fit further demanding that the Mirror respond to her. Adam was appalled to see her immaturity being exposed in her rage; not that he enjoyed her rage as an old hag, but he definitely could see more ugliness peeking through the cracks of her mask of youth and beauty.

_"What is on the inside is much more important than what is on the outside_. . ." He shook his head and felt rather relieved to see her ugliness coming out. "_What lies within will most definitely surface._"

With another shrill in her temper tantrum the threw a glass vial that broke on the wall just to the left of Adam. He decided that would be his cue to enter.

"Queen Grimhilde." He remained still and watched as her cape and skirts flurred about her.

"Who is it?" her eyes were wide and crazed for a few moments before she blinked, realized who he was, then glared and calmed her nostril flaring. "What is it? What do you want?"

"I have returned, per your request, your highness." He did not bow to her as he stepped into her dungeon. He would not bow to a woman who displayed such an immature temper.

"What news have you brought me?" She raised an eyebrow at his lack of bowing, but turned to her vanity. She gently touched her face, removed her crown, then picked up her hairbrush and began to brush the long, luscious spider black locks.

"None of which I can share with you."

"What?" Those green eyes went wide again as she slapped her brush on the vanity.

"I knew you weren't going to be happy about this." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed and merely prepared himself to speak. "My Queen, please remain silent and calm before I begin to explain the situations and what it is that you have done."

"Very well." Another nostril flare, but her eyes went to more of a normal size. "Speak."

He had to choose his words carefully so as not to give away what his position was and what time period he was from to properly explained the contract that she signed; how the histories that the libraries had were removed because they would hinder him on his mission because of how many different versions there were of her story; and how he could only be a henchman of sorts because of the limitations that she signed in her future. Throughout his entire explanation her nostrils flared, her eyes widened, and he saw how her temper grew and shrunk as his story went on. In her way of calming herself she pampered herself, respun her hair into her scalp tight bun and placed her crown straight on her head. What surprised him as well as terrified him was her silence when he finished.

"From what you have told me, you are useless to me." She said simply as she stood.

"No, not useless." He glared down at her. "I am just not of use to you in the way that you wish."

"Do you care to explain the difference?" She crossed her arms into her sleeves.

"Although I cannot out rightly prevent you from repeating any of your mistakes," he spoke slowly. "I can be a spy of sorts and help cause a different ending for you."

"And how exactly would you do that?" She raised that long eyebrow.

"I can live both within the town as well as the castle to see who talks, what they talk about, and to see if this Realm is divided or if they are planning a riot to put Snow White on the throne."

Her eyes widened at this and there was a sheer moment of fear in them. He knew how paranoid she was as an old hag, and used that to his advantage. She hated to hear how the servants and plebeians in the Anti-World spoke about her, treated her, and outcast her.

"It appears that you are not as useless as I thought." She mused and walked towards him. "I shall indeed require your services."

"I shall require a few things before I can be of service to you, my Queen." He debated on bowing, but as he spoke to her on an even and equal level he did not.

"And what is it that you require?" Her eyebrow twitched.

"I require clothes that are less finer than these," he gestured to his coat and pants. They were of the most royal colors and of the best quality, all embroidered in gold. "Something that will look like what a farmer would wear."

"Why do you wish to dress as a peasant?" her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"It will be easier to walk in the crowds amongst the people, and it will be a good disguise."

"Very well," she rolled her eyes. "It shall be done. What else?"

"I shall require two places of lodging," he held up two fingers as he spoke. "I shall require one here in the castle, as well as one in the city."

"Why two?" she tapped her fingers on her arm. "I understand why you would need one here since you shall be my henchman, however, I do not understand why you would need one in the city with the peasants?"

"For the sake of keeping up the disguise." He glared at her. "It will also be easier and faster for me to create a halfway point in the city than it is here in the castle."

"And why is that?" She sounded suspicious. "Is there not more magical energy here in the castle?"

"There is, however, there is more of a variety of magic in the city."

"Variety?"

"You see, there is too much Dark Magic here."

She stiffened and her eyes widened. Those green eyes darted to the grimoire that was opened on its easel. "Very well, it shall be done. Do you require anything else?"

"Yes, just one more thing."

"What is it?"

"What does Snow White look like?"

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have been enjoying it so far!_

_Thank you for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

* * *

Chapter Ten

The Queen merely stared at him as if she had swallowed a sour lemon. Eyes wide, the white of the eyes seemed to turn a shade of red, and her fists shook.

"What did you say?" there was venom in her words and he did not know why.

"I only asked, what does Snow White look like?" He raised his brow at her. She suddenly marched over to him, grabbed him by his ear and dragged him along.

"Come with me."

Like a child having done something wrong, Queen Grimhilde pulled Adam by his ear through the dungeons and to the next floor until they had gotten to a window where she finally released him.

"That, is Snow White!" She hissed as she pointed towards the window.

He hesitantly stepped forward and saw several of the maids huddled together washing bed sheets, laughing and gossiping. There were four all together: A curly red head with green eyes, a brunette with blue eyes, a platinum blonde with brown eyes, and the one he recognized was his scullery maid that he had become acquainted with.

Well, she wasn't his scullery maid since he had no ownership of her, but he definitely enjoyed seeing her and speaking with her. Of the four she was the smallest and worked the hardest. Although they appeared to be working together, he noticed that she was working by herself while the other three worked together on their laundry. How strange.

"Which one? There are three of them down there."

"It is obvious," she shoved him aside and pointed again out the window. "The one with raven black hair, red ruby lips, and skin as white as snow; Snow White!"

She spoke the name so loudly that the maids all stopped, but the one that fell and seemed to shake was the little scullery maid he had met. In the two times that they met, she never once mentioned her name. She go this, but she never admitted to what her name was.

_"I should have known. . ." _His hands clenched into fists as he stepped back from the window. For some reason he found it rather difficult to breath as if he were having an anxiety attack of sorts. His hand went to his chest and he began to count his breaths.

_Inhale, One. . ._

_Two. . ._

_Three. . ._

"Yes, that insufferable ball of sunshine and kindness is Snow White." She hissed.

_Exhale, Four. . ._

_Five. . ._

_Six. . ._

"She uses her kindness as a weapon and seduces the males into liking her. She has more allies in this castle than I do in my own home country!" She slammed her fist against the window seal.

_Inhale, Seven. . . _

_Eight. . . _

_Nine. . ._

"If only I hadn't swore to her father. . ."

_Exhale, Ten. . ._

_Eleven . . ._

_Twelve. . ._

"What did you swear?" He asked after finally getting his breathing under control.

"I swore to that man that I personally would not lay a hand on his daughter's head." She glared and her red lips turned into a snarl. "I would have drained her of her blood ages ago had I not sworn I wouldn't!"

"What is so special about you going back on a swear?" She did it all to easily in her old age. She lived by no limitations, not even swears or oaths.

"When you are a witch and you swear or make an oath," She snatched his wrist and dug her nails into his flesh. His eyes widened. "It will kill you if you do not keep it."

"Why did you make it?" he tried to gently take his wrist back, but in the process revealed a small sliver of his wrist between his gloves and the sleeves.

"It was his dying wish before I drank his blood and began this pilgrimage of black magic!" her grip became tighter.

"Your Highness" he stared down at his wrist. "I recommend that you let go - "

"So since I cannot kill her, I shall have you kill her -!" she cackled and the tips of her fingers touched the slightest hair of exposed skin on his wrist. She yelped and leapt back in pain and held her hand. "What did you do?!" He hand shook and was steaming as if it were melting.

"_I_ did not do anything intentional." He tugged down the sleeve of his shirt and retucked it into his gloves. "You touched my skin. _You_ made my skin poisonous. Anything that I touch with my bare skin immediately receives a high dosage of toxic poison that it will kill anything."

"How marvelous," she chuckled and circled him. Her hand still shook and steamed, but in just a few short minutes it seemed to have healed over. He did not like the fact that her hand and simply healed so quickly. "You're poisonous?"

"Yes. . ." She circled him like a vulture.

"Marvelous," a smile grew on her face, an evil smile. "Simply marvelous. My, Adam, it appears that you are not useless at all~!"

He did not like the sound of that at all. Another cackle escaped her and her mood completely changed. "Well, my dear nephew," she patted his cheek. "It appears that you will most definitely be useful to me after all."

"Nephew?" He repeated. "I am not your nephew, I am your - "

"I know what you are." She slapped his face in impatience. "However, for the sake of gossip amongst the servants, you shall be known as my nephew. It is definitely easier trying to explain to people than saying that you are my creation from some sort of future that should not happen."

"True . . ."

"I have decided it then." She turned with a dramatic flare of her cape. "You shall receive your requests, I shall have my servants prepare a room for you. You will return to me this afternoon. In the mean time," she looked over her shoulder. "Why don't you go find some way to entertain yourself?"

She left with her velvety robes and cape billowing behind her and much to Adam's relief, left him alone. He fell back against the wall and ran his hand through his hair. He had no idea what he needed to do. The Queen was all too willing to meet his demands now that she knew what he was capable of. He should be happy, but there was some part of him that ached and itched at the thought of actually giving the Queen what she wanted. What's worse what that he knew who Snow White was, and he did not want to kill her; yet. His head swam and he felt sick, but he pushed himself up on the wall and made himself stand. He would not let some little girl get in the way of his mission, especially since that girl was his mission now.

He made himself walk down the long hallway where he eventually ventured into the large library that the scullery maid - Snow White - had previously told him about. Upon entering, his could only stop and gape at the room filled to the brim with books. It was only a single story room, but it seemed to stretch the full length of the castle! He had never seen so many books in one place before. The library in the Anti-World in the Evil Queen's castle had moldy books that she often used for the fires. Other than the books she required for him to read for her special studies, he had not read anything beyond that.

Ever so quietly, he walked the long rows of shelves of books and could not choose where to begin. There was everything from philosophy, theology, biology, history, fiction, and poetry all of varying sizes that he greatly wished to devour. Alas, there was not enough time for him to actually read them all, but he would most definitely start somewhere. Of the most complicatedly simple things he decided to start with was poetry. As an art poetry was both beautiful, but boring. It was the depth in the words that he wanted to study and see why poetry was so moving.

His gloved hand found a thin, black poetry book by Rainer Maria Rilke.

"_What is necessary, after all, is only this:_

_Solitude, vast inner solitude._

_To walk inside yourself and meet no one for hours -_

_That is what you must be able to attain._"

"What an interesting thought. . ." he murmured as he continued to scan over the next few pages. This particular writing style was much easier to read than he anticipated. Poetry could be difficult depending on the culture as well as verse of the poetry and it was something he often times decided to read before bed rather than for pleasure. Still, it was rather interesting to see what writers could come up with.

"Looks like you managed to find your way here without my help," a soft giggle came from behind him and he swung his arm out. He was glad that she was so short compared to him, otherwise she more than likely would have had a bloody nose and a mouthful of apple poison running through her system.

He relaxed his arm and clutched the book to himself. He had not heard her footsteps, nor did he sense her approaching him. It was one of his worst flaws when it came to reading, he always tuned the rest of the world out. It got him in trouble many times before with the Evil Queen.

"You were so quiet. . ." He cleared his throat and awkwardly tried to find his place in the book again, but he just kept turning to random pages. He'd find where he was eventually.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she put her tiny hands over those plumps red lips. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just tried to be quiet so I wouldn't disturb your reading."

He merely looked at her and did not know what exactly to say. At this very moment all he had to do was reach out, touch any part of her skin, and she would melt away and the Evil Queen would get her Happy Ending faster. Actually, now that he thought about it, killing her now would be too obvious and would cause conflict for the Evil Queen; it was almost the right motivation that he needed. . . No, that would be too messy and would cause more trouble than conflict.

"Are you mad?" Those big brown eyes pleaded for forgiveness. There was an odd pang in his chest, and he didn't like it and he scowled more. "I really didn't want to disturb you I just - "

"No, I'm not mad about that," he shook his head and snapped the book closed and looked at her. "I just didn't hear you come in. . ."

"I'm sorry," those big brown eyes were so sincere. "I get in trouble if I am heard, so I have to be extra quiet." She looked down and twiddled her fingers together. Adam, for some odd reason, looked down at her feet and noticed that her shoes had no soles on the bottoms of them. She wore mismatched stockings and her soft leather black shoes had no soles, no bottoms to them. Her little feet turned in as if they were embarrassed to be in such a state.

"Why didn't you tell me your name?" he asked suddenly, hoping to change the subject. He was curious though as to why she would not tell him her name. She more than likely would not like the fact that he found out what her name was, but still. . .

"I-I'm sorry?" She looked up and her head tilted to the left a little.

"Your name." He placed the book back on the shelf and did his best to shield his face of agitation from her. "Why haven't you told me your name?"

"Oh." Her lips pursed into a thin line and she twisted her fingers and looked away again. "Because. . . I'm not supposed to . ."

He did not like that answer, nor did he like the fact she now would not look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry, I've interrupted you, and I should just go - " She tried to run away, but Adam did not like that. He grabbed her wrist and kept her from running away. She looked back at him with a flushed face and eyes that were getting pink around the edges.

"Because why?" he stepped forward, and she shrank back and looked up at him. "Why are you not supposed to tell me your name?"

"Because I'm not supposed to tell people who I am." Her lower lip quivered and those big brown eyes brimmed with tears. "The staff get into trouble if they talk about me, or if I talk to others. Everyone gets hurt because of me. . . I don't know what your relation is to the Queen, but I don't want you to get in trouble either. . ."

"What?" He raised an eyebrow at her. Being who the Evil Queen was, it was not surprising that this was her course of action, but it was still odd to consider her so volatile at such an early age. . .

"My stepmother, the Queen." Those eyes were wide in fear. "She hurts the staff when too many people know about me. Regardless of who you are, she'll hurt you too."

"Queen Grimhilde, is your step mother?" he blinked. He had completely forgotten that they were mother and daughter, even if not by blood. Unlike all of the strange ways that the Evil Queen had told him of how she wanted to kill her, Adam had rarely been told the full story of Snow White.

"Yes," she nodded and that look of fear remained in her eyes. "She is the most beautiful person I have ever seen, but she can be so cruel when her temper gets the better of her. . . I would know."

She cast her eyes to the ground again and Adam could not help but feel annoyed. No one knew of the queen's wrath like he did.

"What do you mean you know of her temper?" he slowly released her wrist and her hand now free, clutched her arm. She hugged herself as though she were cold and still would not look at him.

"She has given me many lashes for things I did not know vexed her. . ." her voice was above a whisper. "I'm not allowed to have friends, I'm not allowed to socialize with the staff, I'm not even aloud to be taught to read!"

Her small face went into her little hands and small sniffles escaped from her. Adam had no idea what to do. He did not want to make her cry, not because he felt bad, but because crying was annoying. He hated the noises of crying infants and children, now he could add crying women to his list of things he did not like to hear. It tempted him to kill her much faster now. . .

"How can you not be able to read?" he asked as she sniveled and rubbed her face. He pulled his handkerchief from his breast pocket and handed it to her. She stopped her sniveling for a few moments, blinked at his gesture, and gently took it and dabbed at her eyes. She touched it to the corners of her eyes ever so carefully, almost as if she were scared of getting dirty.

"My step mother," she sniveled and twisted the handkerchief in her hands, "has forbidden me from reading or learning how to read."

"You can't be serious," his brow furrowed. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen. . ." she whispered and dropped her head.

"How long has the edict been in place?"

"Since I was five or six, I believe."

Adam could not stop his eyes from widening. She could not read, the Queen decreed that she was not allowed to read. He understood why because if she could read, she could read the mail, the letters that came in detailing of her poisons that she ordered not to mention the body count that she kept. If she could read, she could use all of the evidence that was around her against the Evil Queen. Having the ability to read and comprehend the text was a power higher than most magic spells that could make the difference in any kingdom.

_Very clever you old hag, very clever. . ._

"Well that is not good." He grunted and dragged his hand through his hair. "That is not good at all. . .We're going to have to change that."

"I beg your pardon?" she blinked away a few tears and had finally stopped crying. Her eyes were pink as well as her nose, but even with a tear stained face she was still lovely to look at.

"My dear Snow White," She flinched and flushed as he said her name. "I am going to tell you this now so that way you will know for future reference." He stood in front of her and looked her in the eye, "I do not like to repeat myself and you are going to need to properly listen."

Her big brown eyes blinked and she gave a quick nod.

"My dear Snow White," he repeated and felt his eyebrow twitch. "I am going to teach you how to read."

Her tiny hands went over her mouth as a small gasp escaped from her. She looked so happy at the thought then an odd look crossed her face and she shook her head.

"But you can't! If the Queen finds out that you are trying to teach me how to read, then she'll hurt you!"

"I'm not scared of my. . .aunt." He grimaced at calling the old hag his aunt. He hated the idea of that woman being his blood relative. Although she created him, it was not by natural means and the hate that he had been born with held deep feelings of hate towards her. "I know exactly what that woman is capable of and I know exactly what she would do to me if she found out what I intend to do."

"Your aunt?" Her eyes almost seemed to glimmer with excitement. "Then that would mean, you and I are cousins?"

"It's complicated. . ." He dragged his hand down the back of his neck. "I'm not a legitimate nephew. . .Just a family friend who grew up calling her aunt. . ."

His nose wrinkled at the thought of spinning this tale more than it needed to be. However, he did not want to be associated with her more than being a henchman and Recruit.

"Oh. . ." Her shoulders drooped and she held her elbow. "So we're not really family then."

"No," he shook his head. "No we're not. But, it is probably better that way." Her head tilted to the side again and her eyebrow arched as if she were going to as a question. "We can continue the relations at another time. We're getting off track. The baker, do you see him every day?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I always visit him in the mornings to drop of apples in exchange for my apple tarts."

"I am currently looking for lodging in town," he explained. "Tomorrow when you go to the baker I will meet you outside and take you to my lodging and we shall begin your reading lessons."

"Why would we have them there?" She was ever so full of naïve and innocent questions; how much damage had the old hag done to her? "Would it not be easier to have them here?"

"Even walls have eyes and ears, Snow White," he sighed. "Besides, I don't like being in this castle it has too much. . .negative energy." He was wary of saying evil energy in case it would scare her off; then again her step mother was the Evil Queen, she should be used to the evil energy that haunted the castle.

"We could always go to my secret apple trees," she offered, but Adam shook his head.

"No, I won't as that of you. That is your oasis here in such a prison you are forced to be in." He crossed his arms. "No, I won't take that form you. You will meet me in town and I shall take you back to my lodging place and we shall begin your lessons then."

"Very well," a soft smile began to curl on her face. Her little hands grasped his left hand and she gave it a squeeze. "Thank you very much."

"Don't thank me yet," he gingerly pulled his hand free from her. "I show no mercy in my teachings."

"Still, I will look forward to it." That smile only grew on her face and he could see how white her teeth were.

"Just try not to tell anyone," He dragged his hand down the back of his neck. "I will see you tomorrow then."

Not knowing what else to say, he turned on his heel and decided to leave.

"You're just leaving?" She scurried after him.

"Yes." He tried to quicken his pace, but she somehow managed to keep up with her small legs.

"Won't you stay for dinner?" She yanked on the coat tails of his coat and made him stop. "You were invited here by the Queen, were you not? Are you not going to dine with her?"

"The Queen does not eat with peasants." He looked over his shoulder and snatched his coat back. "I already had an appointment that I must return to."

"Oh. " Her shoulders drooped again, and she twisted her fingers as she held out his handkerchief to him. "Then I shall see you in the morning."

He glanced at the handkerchief in her hand and saw that her hand trembled slightly as she held it out to him.

"Keep it." She blinked in surprise. "Think of it as leverage of seeing me in the morning to return it. It'll guarantee our meeting."

Her smile returned and she clutched the handkerchief to her.

"Tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow." Before she could continue to bother him with more conversation, he left the library. His footsteps were quick as he rushed from the library and made his way back to the dungeon.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope that you're enjoying it!_

_Wow, I was surprised I was able to make it this far with Adam. He's been interesting to work with because unlike the other Recruits (in my opinion) he is more of a blank canvas, which is why he may be so easy to work with. ^_^_

_Anyways, I'm currently working on a few backstories for the other Recruits. You've been given a slice of Adam Apple Poison, who do you think should have their story told next? If you don't know about the other Recruits, you should check out my other story Another Chance for Disney Villain Recruiters and let me know what you think. I may be setting out a poll or two soon, haven't decided yet, but let me know who you think should go next. ^_^_

_Thank you for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

* * *

Chapter Eleven

_**Queen Grimhilde**_

That boy who called himself her experiment had yet to return and her patience was growing thin. She had already mutilated three butlers and sucked another young maid dry since he left in the early afternoon. She paced her small patch of stone in front of the Mirror and tried to think of new ways to dispose of Snow White. Now that she had the walking Apple Poison, all she really needed him for was to create a lifetime supply of poison for her to use in the neighboring countries so that she could slowly take over the entire world and live it a beautiful and youthful life by killing handmaidens. It would be perfect!

The drips from the leak in the ceiling echoed off the walls and rather annoyed her and continued to drain her of her patience.

"Where is he?" she hissed and looked over her shoulder at the main entrance form the castle. "He should have been here ages ago. I already have a room prepared and a house in the peasant filled town. He should be back now!"

"Patience, my Queen," the Mirror drolled and graced her with his presence. "He will come in good time. He is doing as you wanted of him and investigating."

"This castle is not that big," she snapped and pointed her finger at him. "He should have been back by now! Where is he?"

"He will be on his way momentarily - "

"Mirror, Mirror," She snapped. "Tell me where Adam is!"

In a swirl of green the Mirror's face disappeared with a groan and showed Queen Grimhilde that Adam was in the library talking to Snow White nonetheless! He was most definitely stiff, as though he didn't know what to do or say. Whatever he said made Snow White cry and she turned to run away. A little smirk rested on her face for only a moment until she watched him reach out for her and kept her at bay.

"What on earth are they doing?" She gripped the mirror. She could see their lips moving, but she could not hear what they were saying. "Mirror, I demand to hear what it is that they are saying."

"Sadly, my Queen" he rolled his soulless sockets as his face took over the face of the mirror. "I can only show you the picture, I cannot provide the volume."

"Useless." She hissed and glared. "Absolutely useless." She released the edges of the Mirror and paced again. "Is that boy a spy? A traitor? How dare he come to me with lies about promises of being form the future!" A screech of anger escaped her and the Mirror merely rolled his eye sockets with a frown.

"Screeching like a banshee is most unbecoming of the most fairest of them all, my Queen." He spoke in a bored tone and sighed heavily.

"Are you insulting me?" She snarled and raised her fist threateningly.

"Of course not, my Queen," he huffed as if the threat held little meaning to it any more. "I am merely reminding you of your position and what the title of the Fairest of them all means."

"If you were a man and not a magic mirror I would have tortured you already." She said most definitely and crossed her arms. "You are the only living thing that dares to challenge me or correct me."

"It is because I am supposed to be your guide and advisor that I do so." He smirked. "That and I am more than likely the only man alive that can stand a chance against you, and that is only because you need me to be your eyes of the happenings in the town."

She glared at the Mirror and only earned his chuckle as a reward from her keeping her tongue as anger ate away at her.

"Now, my Queen," he cleared his throat and became serious again. "You need to trust the boy. He will most definitely provide a better ending for you."

"You have seen it?" her eyes went wide in surprise.

"But of course," he chuckled with a smirk. "Why else would I have let him into your presence and advise you to keep him alive?"

"Very well. . ." her lip twitched. She knew better than to ask him what he knew and what he saw. Anything that he ever told her to be a possible future would immediately change and no longer be a possibility. She did not want to chance her chances of a Happy Ending. "What do you believe that I should do about him then?"

"Let him do as he sees fit." If he had shoulders he would have shrugged. "He knows what the future holds in store for you, for myself, and for the rest of Apfel, perhaps even Snow White. . ."

"What do you mean, perhaps Snow White?" she flinched.

"That is still yet to be determined, my Queen." He sighed again. "Adam, as he so calls himself, is a rather wild card to this story. Everything from here to the end will depending on his actions."

"I do not like wild cards, Mirror, and you know that." She seethed and she resisted the screech that wanted to escape from within her.

"But he is the wild card that you need, my Queen." He repeated. "He will be most beneficial to you. You should not worry, your Highness." The Mirror chuckled. "The boy will be more useful to you than you think. You merely need yo allow him to do as he sees fit if this plan is to take proper action."

"For your sake, I hope your right." She rolled her eyes. "If he does something wrong, it will not only cost him his life, but it will also cost you yours."

"Such bold lines coming from you, my Queen." He chuckled again. "No one likes to have bad luck from mirrors."

* * *

_**Adam Apple Poison**_

All life seemed to disappear from the castle as he got closer and closer to the dungeon, and despite how many times he had been there in the Anti-World, it was somehow more unnerving in a world that actually had light. It was somehow more deceptive and unnerving in a world of light. At least in the Anti-World where it was nothing but darkness he could anticipate the evil acts that would jump out of the shadows of alleys.

Just like the sewers and the tunnels below the castle, the lights that neared the dungeons were green. How had the staff not seen this before now? Did any one actually clean or do maintenance down here? If they did, they were probably the lifeless forms and bodies that were left to decay slowly in the dungeons.

Water dripped from the ceiling at a slow repetitive rate and echoed in the tunnels as he ventured further down into the dungeons. His footsteps echoed in an off balanced rhythm to the dripping noises and soon he heard the soft murmurs of Queen Grimhilde and the Mirror discussing things.

"You should not worry, your Highness," the Mirror chuckled darkly. "The boy will be more useful to you than you think. You merely need to allow him to do as he sees fit if this plan is to take proper action."

Adam remained still and in the shadows. It should not have surprised him that even in her youth she questioned his worth and value. In the Anti-Realm she only used him as her errand boy and although she knew of his poisonous capabilities, that still did not seem to be enough for her both in youth and old age. It was odd to see how some people never changed, rather cruel irony for her since the ugly old hag that lies within is scratching to escape that beautiful mask she tries to hide behind. Even in her youth she was ready to kill him once he proved himself no longer useful.

"For your sake, I hope your right." She rolled her eyes. "If he does something wrong, it will not only cost him his life, but it will also cost you yours."

"Such bold lines coming from you, my Queen." He chuckled again. "No one likes to have bad luck from mirrors."

If there was any one thing that Adam knew more than anything that the curse of bad luck that came from mirrors were the worst; specifically _that_ Mirror. That bastard caused Adam so much pain for weeks it is a miracle that he is still living now. He had learned this terrible mistake because in his early stages of seeing the life of the Anti-World, he had menial tasks of cleaning the Mirror. On one particular stormy night he tripped and caused the Mirror to crack which in turn caused the Mirror to curse him. That Mirror had caused Adam to be stuck through a demon possessed meat factory that the Queen had sent him there for ingredients. He would hate that Mirror forever.

_Maybe I should take that Mirror out before I take Snow White out. . ._

"It would appear that the boy has returned." The Mirror suddenly had his socketless gaze right at Adam.

"Oh Adam," she feigned and overly happy smile and he made sure to keep his calm mask on so as not to flinch. He would show her no weakness. "You have returned."

"Yes, my Queen." he half bowed politely, and though he kept his gaze steady and in line with the Queen's, he could not help but watch the Mirror. What secrets had that blasted Mirror try to reveal?

"Have you explored enough of the castle?" she tucked her hands into her long sleeves. "Have you found it to your liking?"

"But of course," he looked down at her with an even look. "You designed most of the interior of the castle.

"It is a good thing that you have good taste to notice my work." Her smile had pride, however, there was something in her eyes that he did not like. There was more poison in those apple green eyes than he particularly cared to see. "I have arranged for the room in the West Wing to be prepared for you, my nephew."

His nostrils flared as she tried to claim him as her nephew, but he kept his face mostly blank. "Thank you, that is most generous of you."

"Yes, I thought you would like that." There was an odd knowing smirk that grew on her face, however, he decided to ignore it. "I have also found the odd accommodations that you requested in the town. IT is on the outskirts of town closest to the mountains." She walked over to the Mirror, waved her hand over it, and the face of the Mirror turned into a detailed blueprint of the city and the vacant houses. She pointed to the very one she described, it was literally on the very edge of town, but there were still plenty of paths that would lead to the castle itself. There were also several paths that would lead to the mountains which would essentially lead him to the magic tree that held the Door Between Realms. As he studied the map, he was very aware of the fact she could see almost everything about the city, which meant if she were nosey enough she would follow him to the Door Between Realms if she wanted to. He would need to set up proper portals so she would not know where it was.

"Is this sufficient enough?" she turned her nose up at the simple house.

"Most sufficient," he nodded. "It shall prove most useful, more useful than you may realize."

"So long as it gets rid of Snow White, that is all that matters." A dark look flashed over her face and the old hag peeked through the pretty mask. "How soon shall we be able to conduct the matter of getting rid of Snow White?" Her hands disappeared into those long sleeves again.

"It is still too soon to act." He said easily and avoided the glare that was followed by her angry nostril flare.

"What do you mean that it is too soon to act?" He hands escaped from the sleeves and were in fists at her sides and shook. "How long do you intend to make me wait?"

"I should have enough information by the next full moon - "

"The next full moon is in two days, surely you are aware of this." Her eyes widened and slightly twitched as she crossed her arms. "Can you really kill her in two days?"

"It is too soon to kill her," he sighed. "But in two days I can begin to act and formulate my plan."

"And do you intend to share this plan?" Her long eyebrow arched.

"I cannot, or it shall indubitably fail." He shook his head with full confidence.

"I do not like this constant uncertainty from you, Adam." She hissed. "I expect daily reports from you, and I will have a mirror installed in each of your living spaces."

"Of course, my Queen." He spoke through gritted teeth. He regularly avoided mirrors like the plague because he hated the fact that he was always being watched; it would appear that he still could not escape that even in this Realm.

"You are dismissed, you may go to the West Wing, or wherever it is you wish to lodge for the evening." She flicked her wrist. "Leave me."

He did not hesitate and bowed quickly before escaping the dungeons. Already knowing the way and which room that she referred to, he walked quickly to the West Wing. The staff passed him and looked rather confused as he passed, but said nothing to him as he continued along his way. When he finally reached the big room at the end of the hall, he shut the door behind him and leaned down against the door.

He felt sick. He wanted to throw up. His heart beat fast and he took deep breaths and big swallows to calm his breathing. His gloved hand ran through his hair as he leaned his head back against the door. He already hated the old hag and the Mirror separately, when they were together it was suffocating. As he practiced his breathing he glanced around the room and nearly stopped breathing; it was an exact replica of his room in the Anti-Castle in the West Wing of the Recruit hall. He slowly stood up and looked around the room.

The king-size oak four poster bed sat on the right side of the room with matching nightstands that sat on either side of the bed, trunk that sat at the end of the bed, and dressing cabinet that sat on the left side of the room. Luxurious wood fit for any king. The ceilings were high, the floors were a light color to actually allow light to explore the room, and the windows were grand with a view of the mountain. Other than the fact that this Realm was actually touched by light, the only big difference between this room and the room in the Anti-Castle was the lack of a king-size bathroom. He had not realized that he would be missing such a high tech and futuristic thing such as plumbing and running water, but he was in the old hag's original time, so he only had to put up with it while he was in this Realm. He would most definitely be returning to the Anti-Realm though to sleep and to bathe. It would be too risky here.

He turned his attention back to the mountains and heaved a sigh. It was going to be a long hike to get there. It would not be long now until the sun set, he would need to leave and return to the Anti-Realm quickly. Since he would not be staying the evening in this room, it would be better for him to go ahead and leave so he could see the other house in the town. Taking another glance around the room, he left this room and set out to discover his new lodging in the town.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far!_

_I know this is a little slow, but the ball is going to begin rolling. I'm jumping between this one and the main story of "Another Chance for Disney Villain Recruiters" and I may or may not be working on a few other stories to go along with these. ^_^ Please bare with me as I'm writing as fast as I can and uploading stories as quickly as I can on top of quite a few other jobs that I have to do._

_Thank you so much for coming along for the journey, stay tuned!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

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_Although I do not feel as though I should provide a warning since this is a rated M story, I am still providing a warning that there may be some content within the story that may make the reader uncomfortable. There will be violence._

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Chapter Twelve

Adam had not realized that he had spent an entire day here in Apfel. It was odd, but still remarkable. He was normally very good at remembering and following the time as it passed so as to always be on time, but it had somehow managed to sneak up on him and run away. Then again, a lot had happened today. He got to see the early development stages of demented-ness of the old hag, has seen a sunrise and has enjoyed the warmth of the sun, and he has discovered who Snow White and what she looked like.

_"It is a shame that she is so beautiful. . ."_ Adam could not help but think as he walked through the town to his lodging. "_Then again, the old hag did tell me she used her beauty to manipulate things in her favor; this was going to be a much harder task than I thought. .."_

Adam had never seen another creature quite as beautiful as Snow White. Pure porcelain skin, black silky curly curls, doe brown eyes, apple red lips, and a heart of kindness. From the moment that Adam had met her she has shown nothing but kindness to the world around her; even him. It no longer surprised him why the fools, the old hag called them, failed to carve out her heart and bring it to her. Even Adam began to doubt his own abilities in killing her. It would be easy, every so easy. All he had to do was reach out with his bare hand and touch her. She would shrivel up like a prune and wither away with just the simple touch of his hand.

He stopped and looked at his gloved hand and slowly clenched it into a fist. "It would really be too easy. . ." he glared at his hand.

He had accepted the fact that he was more venomous than snakes, spiders, and vermin, but that did not relieve him of the worst poison that dwelled in his body. That agonizing sense of loneliness made him more numb to the world, created an armor in the Anti-World filled with nothing but darkness, kept a mask of eternal calm on his face; yet somehow in this Realm, Apfel had found a way of showing him warmth, kindness, and even a longing for belonging that rekindled that horrible awareness that he would forever be alone. His fist clenched tighter as rage began to pump through his veins.

"Sir Adam?" that dove voice cooed and touched his shoulder. Those doe brown eyes looked at him in concern and he went ridged.

"What are you doing here?" his voice came out in a harsh hiss, and although her eyes widened in surprise, she did not remove her hand.

"I was sent into town to retrieve a few items for dinner." He looked down and saw she had a basket hooked over her elbow and a piece of paper gripped in the hand. "I just happened to see you and - Are you all right? You look rather pale?"

Her little hand reached up to touch his face, sweating unbeknownst to him, but he tightly held her hand.

"Do not touch me." He warned gently and her smooth forehead furrowed in confusion. "You do not need to get your hands dirty for touching me."

In truth he did not want to cause a scene in the middle of the street with so may witnesses that would require him to go on a murderous rampage. If she touched him now, especially now that he was aware that he was sweating, she would die of poison.

I-I'm terribly sorry." She did not try to take her hand back, but merely flushed and looked away as he continued to hold her hand above her head. "I meant no offense -"

"You did not offend me." He gently let go of her hand. "I apologize. I am rather unfamiliar with certain touches and certain movements are not fond to me as they are to others."

"You do not need to explain that to me." She smiled and seemed to somehow pale and look sallow. "I am familiar with the movements that I am not fond of . . ."

For a moment he had to stop and recall their conversation in the library to remember what it was that she had referred to. It was difficult for him to acknowledge that anyone would want to harm such a beautiful creature, but then again the old hag would harm her own creation so it was not that big of a surprise. Snow White looked down again to avoid his gaze and Adam noticed in the distance a few hooded figures that were lingering a few feet away, pretending to be interested in the stalls, but were all too interested in Snow White.

"Do you need an escort?" He asked and held his elbow out to her.

"I'm sorry?" she blinked in surprise.

"Allow me to escort you while you shop." Though he looked at her, he could see the two hooded figures watching them. "It is getting late."

"Well. . ." She chewed her lower lip rather nervously, but Adam would not give her a moment to think about it. He took her hand again and looped it through his elbow as he guided them through an alley. She tried to spout some sort of nonsense that this was impractical and that they were going the wrong way, but he did not listen to her and took her back to the main square where he knew there were shops in a public area.

He kept his pace quick and steady, but made sure that it was at a pace she could keep up with. Sadly this meant that the two hooded figures would also be able to catch up. At some point though she quit her squabble and just continued to walk with him.

"You are suddenly very quiet." He noted and her grip on his elbow tensed.

"I'm sorry," she kept her gaze ahead of her. "You see, I can't help but feel so appreciative of your escort at the moment."

"And why is that?"

"I've been followed again. . ." her grip tightened and trembled on his elbow.

"Is this a regular occurrence?" he rested his other hand over her trembling one as they walked.

"Only when I have to get groceries for dinner. . ." He could tell that she wanted to look over her shoulder, but she only tightened her grip on his arm. "They've only caught me once before. . . But I never thought that they would try again."

He felt his eyes widen and he became very aware of the presence of the two hooded figures that still followed them even in the crowd.

"What do you mean by caught you?" the hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he suddenly felt very warm.

"I feel as though that would be self explanatory -"

"What did they do?" he asked bluntly as they remained in the shadows of the square. She looked down and only trembled more all the way down to her toes. Her silence did not bode well for him. "What did they do to you?"

"They ensured that my title as a princess meant nothing . . ." her voice was hoarse and just barely above a whisper.

The warmth just became a heat and there was a fire that quickly spread through him. He could not tell if he was breathing any longer, but he knew that he was no longer sweating and a certain blood lust that he had not felt in a long time was growing in him.

"How long ago was this?" He spoke ever so softly to her.

"Two years ago." She gripped her basket tightly in her hands. "I do not see them often, but they have been around in Apfel more recently."

"You are to notify me when you are to do an evening grocery run." He said indefinitely and caught her attention. Those brown eyes were glistening with tears that were ready to flood the floodgates.

"Why are you doing this?" She there was such an honest curiosity in her eyes that it caught him off guard.

"At the moment, it is my duty as a man to escort a lady of your status." He took a step forward into the light. "After this, I have yet to decide. But for now, just get the groceries that you need."

He gave her a gentle push to the vegetable stalls and kept her within hand reach as he scanned the dying crowd for the hooded stalkers. He could not see them, there was a chance that they removed their hoods, but he could sense their lingering presence.

In no time at all Snow White had tugged on his elbow, linked arms with him again, and was soon escorted back to the castle with the hoods following them all the way.

"I can only take you as far as the gates." He told her. "Once you are past the gates, I'll have to return into town to finish my exploring for the day."

"I-" She gripped her basket full of meats and vegetables for the evening meal. "I'm sorry to have taken you from your original tasks, but I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your escort this evening."

"You have nothing to apologize for." He unlinked their arms and gave her a push. "You need to get past the gates; now."

She hesitated, but went running as fast as she could in her clogs through the gates. He stood and waited to see her make it to the castle doors before he turned and looked to the shadows of the alleys that he would soon take. The hooded men were nowhere in sight, but he knew that they were not gone. More than likely waiting to ambush him once he escaped through the alleys. If that was going to be the case, he would just have to lead them to his new abode.

In one smooth quick stride he leapt into the shadows and sprinted through the alleys with chasing footsteps right behind him. His coat was heavy and cumbersome and weighed him down, but he would need it for later purposes so he would not rid himself of it. He pushed his speed and he could tell that they were just barely able to keep up with him. A smirk crept on his face and he could not help but feel the excitement from the heat as he led the rats to his trap.

Taking the routes that would lead to the backdoor of his new abode, he led the strangers straight to his new house. He left the door open for them even as he entered. With the hoods over their faces, they followed him in and shut the door behind themselves. Adam merely stood in the middle of the room and watched them try to be looming and scary figures.

"Cocky lil' brat to be leadin' us straight here," the one on the left sneered.

"That broad was ours, she is ours. We came to collect her." The one on the right sounded somewhat smarter than the other.

Adam said nothing and merely stared at the two that tried to claim Snow White as a sort of prostitute.

"We knows ya speak English," the one on the left hocked a logy. "There ain't no point in ya keeping quiet. What the hells you wantin' with our broad?"

"Do not refer to her as that." He growled ever so slightly as that blood lust went through him.

"Ahahaha, looks like she's hook line and sinkered another one." The one on the left chortled.

"Shuddup, Joe." The one on the right slapped Joe on the back of the head.

"Ow, Jack!" Joe whined. "What'da go and do that for?!"

"Shuddup!" He smacked him again then looked at Adam. "So you done fancy yourself the little Snow White, eh? We saw you tryin ta play hero with her."

"Acting as a gentleman does not make me a hero."

"Nah, we know who you are, the Queen done sent us to look after ya." Joe chortled. "We know you ain't no hero."

Jack slapped Joe again and a hissing slew of curses spouted from Joe.

"The Queen sent you to watch me?" Adam asked calmly.

"Not you. We were never sent to watch y ou specifically," Jack's head rolled and his hood fell from his head. "We always watch after lil' Snow White whenever she's sent into town fer the grocery runs."

"Messed her up good one time." Joe snorted. "Made sure she couldn't have no children none either."

"Yeah, that was a fun time" Jack chuckled. Jack made no effort in pretending to act tough and showed his true colors as a sleeze. "Probably the best job that we were ever paid ta do."

"Ya did a nice carving on her stomach too, Jack."

"Yes, my carving skills are always good." He casually puled out a crooked and jagged knife out of his long sleeve and casually looked over at Adam. "I can always show ya my handy work, though my skills have gotten rather rusty over the last few days. . ."

"Really, Jack?" Joe blinked incredulously as his bald head shined form under his hood. "There's a pretty canvas there for you to get some practice in, sharpen those skills of yours."

"Why, Joe, I think that's the smartest thing yo've said all day." Jack's head rolled over to Adam and a sneer of yellowing and brown teeth peered out from his disgusting mouth.

"Aw, thanks Jack - "He smiled for a mere moment then blinked in realization. "Hey-!"

"Just stay behind me, Joe," Jack whipped off his hooded cloak and tossed it to Joe. "I'm going to work on my next masterpiece."

In a fast and oddly silent sprint Jack ran at Adam with a crooked and jagged knife in each hand. Adam did not move and merely waited for the fool to keep running towards him. Something in him just snapped. Jack raised his knives to slash at Adam, but Adam merely grabbed him by both wrists in midair.

"What the -" Jack's beady brown eyes were wide in terror.

Adam, ever so nonchalantly, bent Jack's wrists in the opposite way until they both made a loud _snap_and those jagged knives bent back and stabbed his forearms. Before Jack could scream out in pain, though, Adam had him by the throat with one hand and held the broken and bleeding wrists in the other. Adam kept adding more and more pressure to Jack's throat.

"Oh no," Adam said monotoned and held on to the knife handles. "You're wrists are broken and bleeding. You bent them the wrong way. Here, let me get them out for you, Jack."

Jack shook his head and breathed heavily in panic as Adam slowly but surely yanked out the first knife, being sure to wiggle it in the holes before ripping it out of the right wrist. A gargle yell muffled its way out of Jack's nose, but Adam refused to let him make another noise as he tightened his hold on his neck. He merely held the first bloody jagged knife in his hand as he used it to dig the other knife out of his other wrist. Jack's eyes had tears flooding down his eyes and gargled screams kept getting caught in his throat. All the while that Jack writhed in pain Joe just stood and watched. His eyes were so big and his bald head looked as though it were an egg ready to crack from all the blood that was flowing from Jack's wrists.

"There," he yanked the second knife free and casually pointed the bloody tip into Jack's throat. "I got the knives out for you, Jack."

Jack wheezed in pain and fear while Joe yelled something incomprehensible.

"Still think I'm tryin got play hero, Jack?" he could not help but smile and relish at the fear and dread that lay in Jack's black eyes. Jack shook his head and began to whimper, almost in a pathetic way to beg for his life. "Good." He only let the knife slip from Jack's neck by just a hair and loosened his grip from around his throat. "Now you're going to tell me what you and your crafty knife skills did to Snow White."

"Why?" he rasped out in a cough.

"Don't do it, Jack," Joe shook his head, though he still stood frozen in fear and a horrible stench was reeking from across the room. "Don't tell him nothin'!"

"Oh, would you rather tell me what happened?" Adam rolled his head around to Joe. "You were there too, right? I really only need one of you to tell me what happened."

Joe's bald head was sweating and his stupid brown eyes were bulging in fear.

"I ain't afraid of you." He bellowed, as if trying to convince himself.

"Oh?" Adam mused, ready to see what moves this fool would try.

"I ain't afraid of you!" Joe bellowed again and came running at Adam with daggers in each of his hands. Jack tried kicking his feet as Adam held him up in the air, but Adam flung one knife at Joe catching him in the left shoulder and stabbed the other into Jack's shoulder to pin him to the wall. Jack let out a scream and Joe was spiraling off to the left. Adam walked over to Joe and merely stood above him as he writhed and bellowed in pain as he tried to yank the knife out of his shoulder.

"Still not afraid of me?" he loomed over Joe.

"Why?" Joe shook in fear. "Why are you doin' this? Don'tcha work for the Queen?"

"Yes and no." Adam took off his right glove. "Ideally I'm working for her because that is what she originally sent me here to do. . .but I am working for myself."

"You won't live a day after this!" Joe yelled. "Once the Queen finds out that you killed us she'll - !"

"She'll replace you with two other man children who want to play bad guys." Adam pressed his left foot into Joe's right shoulder, to hold him in place.

"S-Sh-She'll avenge us!" Joe argued doubtfully.

"Will she?" Adam grabbed the knife in his left hand and stayed crouched over Joe. "Because I know that old hag very well, and she doesn't give a damn about anyone who fails at completing her goals."

"_We_ did complete our goal!" Joe yelled frantically. "We fucked her up like the Queen paid us to do!"

"Shut up Joe!" Jack called as he tried to remove himself from the wall.

"Oh, did you now?" Adam's eye twitched and that blood lust grew stronger. He yanked out the knife from Joe's shoulder. Another annoying bellow came from Joe, and Adam rested his right hand over the bleeding wound. "Just what exactly did you do to her?"

"I fucked her." Joe laughed as he became crazed. "The Queen wanted us to mess her up so no prince would ever want her, so I fucked her and Jack made sure she wouldn't have no offspring by stabbing her here!" He tried to stab one of his daggers into Adam's groin area and stomach. "She's so scarred up that she would never be the fairest of them all in this Realm!"

Joe began to frantically and crazily laugh, but Adam had gotten all of the information that he needed from Joe. He pressed his bare and poisonous right hand over Joe's face and remained silent. It didn't take long before Joe's bald headed face melted away and crisped into ashes. From his skull to his toes he turned into white ashes in a mere few moments. When all that remained were ashes and bloody clothes, Adam stood and turned to Jack. He did not know when, but apparently Jack vomited and shat himself just like Joe had.

"Still think I'm trying to be hero?" Adam asked as he walked over the ash covered clothes to approach Jack.

"Yo're fucking crazy!" Jack squealed and more frantically pulled at the knife embedded in his shoulder.

"Possibly." He shrugged as he stood before Jack, his coat fluttering around him. "I am the Queen's bastard creation, so I do suppose that some of the craziness stuck with me." Jack's eyes widened. "However, this is not me being crazy at all, this is actually very calm and sane." He rested his left hand on the knife in Jack's shoulders. "I'm merely making sure that everything is right and fair." He merely stared at Jack as Jack weakly tried to grab hold of Adam's wrist to pull the knife out. "And I'm just fucking the two of you up like you did to her."

"I hope you burn in hell!" Jack spat and Adam merely placed his bare right hand over Jack's face. Just like Joe his melted away, but with more of a smoky smell since he actually had hair on his head. Just like Joe, Jack turned into a pile of ashes at Adam's feet. Still holding the knife in his hand Adam looked around his new home at the two giant gust piles and huffed.

"Now I have a mess to clean up. . ."

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_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far!_

_I do not know if you found this chapter dark, however, you need to remember that although this is a Disney themed and inspired sort of story that Adam Apple Poison is still part of the Villain universe. Therefore as most villains do, there is going to be violence and death involved in the story. _

_I have not decided if I will give a warning to every possible violent chapter, that is just a small spoiler before you get to the actual content, especially since this is a rated M story. For those of you who do not know the ratings and how they work you should reread the rating levels._

_With the ratings and author's thoughts mostly out of the way, I would love to hear from you. What do you think of the story so far? Anything you find interesting? Please let me know. Adam is going to be going on a very interesting journey of discovery from here._

_Thank you for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

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Chapter Thirteen

Thanks to his little run in with the two savages and having to clean their mess up, Adam was nearly late for dinner. And in all honesty he did not care that he was late. Mr. V offered little to no help to him since there was no information about Snow White's story or Queen Grimhildes story anywhere in the library. His mind was still in a whirl from what the two savage idiots told him.

_"The Queen paid us to fuck her up! . . .And I did!"_

_"My pretty carving skills~"_

_"They ensured that my title as a princess meant nothing. . ."_

_"You'll get punished if you're caught talking to me!"_

_"Any time I talk to the other servants disappear and are severely punished!"_

He had not realized why she had ostracized herself from practically all of society, though he should have. He was no stupid he simply had not paid attention to all of the facts that were laid out before him. Everything the old hag had told him through his upbringing was a lie! Snow White would never had manipulated her way into men's beds or to get her way or to even cause an uprising with the people! She was a scared young woman who had literally everything taken away from her that could have possibly been hers. Her innocence, her education, her father, her position in society - she was left with nothing and still the old hag wanted to make sure that she would not rise to any sort of power.

Adam could not understand it.

What purpose did the old hag to drag such an innocent girl down into such a living hell? What could Snow White possibly have done to even remotely bring so much misfortune to not only her own life, but also those around her?

Why did the old hag hate Snow White so much?

Adam was relieved to walk in the stain glass hallway in the Door Between Realms because of how dark and quiet it was. His head had so many questions in it his brain was swimming in a sea of doubt and confusion and ached terribly with so much going on inside his head. He hissed as he reached the Anti-World and had to be in the candlelight of the Anti-Castle.

Varuo was draped on the bench recording the hour and minute to which he had arrived and Frederick was waiting right outside the Wardrobe for him as he returned to the Anti-Realm.

"Welcome back, Master Adam," Frederick greeted with an odd wrinkly smile. "May I take your. . .bundle of clothes?"

Adam had forgotten that he had brought the clothes with him. He had had so much on his mind in his furious cleaning that he had completely forgotten the clothes of the idiots he had brought with him.

"Ah, I'll take them." He cleared his throat and held his head. "They have my poison on them; it'd be bad for you to touch them unless you're wanting an early retirement."

"Very well, Master Adam." Frederick bowed respectfully. "Shall you be joining the others for dinner this evening?"

"What-?" He didn't even know that he had the option to not have to join the others for dinner. "No. I think I'd rather not this evening. . . I have too much on my mind and I desperately need to be cleaned. . ."

"As you wish, Master Adam." He shuffled forward and grabbed the door for Adam. "I shall have your tea and meal brought to your room."

"Thank you." Adam replied as he went on his way to escape to his room. He would take every moment of silence that he could if it meant that he could sort out everything that was in his head. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and made his way to the West Wing. He could hear the laughter from the other Recruits in the dining hall and despite his stomach aching for food, he did not want to join them. There would be too many distractions and he needed a clear head to reformulate a new plan.

He continued down the long hall that was lined with door on either side and entered the last one at the very end of the hall. He was almost surprised to see that the room was covered in mostly darkness and only had the candle lights around the room as a source of light. For a small hiccup of a moment he thought he had returned to Apfel and had entered his room in the West Wing. He was actually relieved to be in the darkness after being in Apfel all day. He had come to really enjoy the light of the sun, but the day's events had really taken a toll on him. It had only been the second day and he already had to kill two people; thankfully they weren't innocent people.

Still the day's events have definitely made him reconsider his goals and options though. He looked at the clothes in his hands and tossed them in the hamper beside the bathroom door. He would personally scrub out the blood stains later. There was no need in wasting good quality clothes; even if they did come from the scum of the Realm. He sighed heavily and went to his writing desk where he pulled out his field journal and began to write.

_February 10_

_Field Mission Two:_

_Examine area and learn more of the people._

_Find Snow White and her weakness._

_Discuss goals and intentions of the Queen._

_Notes:_

_Dwarves live in the mountain and are all rather focused on their work with the exception of the deaf one they call Dopey. Crude name for a dwarf with a disability._

_Need to cast a portal spell for easy transportation between the castle, the town, and the mountains._

_Need to cover every mirror that is placed in rooms, or find a way of removing them._

_Need to discover who the Queen really is and what her true intentions are. _

_Need to find out if town has noticed the disappearance of people._

_Need to find books to help teach Snow White to read._

_Today was a beautiful day of sun in a town filled with average peasants and kind souls. The Realm of Apfel is too good for the old Queen Grimhildes. Even in a Realm filled with light the darkness still hides in the shadows. Although I was able to rid that Realm of two shadows known as Jack and Joe, there is still much left in the Apfel Realm to correct and answers that I need._

_Goals for Mission Three:_

_Find out how much education Snow White has received._

_Discover why the Dwarves need to mine the diamonds from the mines._

_Find out the truth of the Queen Grimhildes._

_Find good places to put the portals._

_Find out Snow White's true identity._

He closed the journal and set his quill in the small nook above the writing station next to his inkwell. A knock came at his door and Frederick shuffled his way into the room.

"I've brought your tea, Master Adam." He announced and shuffled his way over to the desk.

"Thank you Frederick." He scooted his chair to the side and crossed his arms and glared at the field journal.

"Is something the matter, Master Adam?" Frederick asked as he poured the black tea into the grey tea cup.

"Just a minor headache." He waved off the old man and took the cup. He drank long and slow and enjoyed the warmth that filled him.

"Is there anything else that I can help you with, Master Adam?" There was an odd glimmer in his green eyes as he looked at Adam. It was as if he wanted to share something with Adam, but he could not out rightly say it.

"If you have something you want to say, Frederick you best well say it." He took another sip from his tea. "I've got a mind full of questions about Apfel and hardly any answers to ease my mind."

"What is going on in Apfel?" He asked genuinely concern. "Is Grimhilde causing a fuss?"

Adam nearly choked on his tea. The way he spoke the old hag's name so caringly disgusted Adam.

"You know of the old hag?" Adam's nose wrinkled.

"I have known _Queen Grimhilde_ practically all her life." Frederick frowned in disappointment at Adam, but made no comment on the name Adam had called her.

"You what?" Adam blinked and set his tea down.

"Oh yes," he chuckled fondly. "I have known Grimhilde since she was a girl. She always was the prettiest in the whole Realm. . ."

Adam had no idea what to say. His jaw almost fell open in the realization that Frederick personally knew who the Evil Queen was, and spoke her name in an odd and almost boyish fondness. Adam stood and pulled up a chair for Frederick.

"Please sit." Adam spoke sternly, but respectfully. Frederick looked grateful to be allowed to sit.

"Thank you, Master Adam." He chuckled and poured himself a cup of tea with the second teacup that sat on the tray.

"I do believe that you have a story to tell me." Adam state and crossed his arms and legs.

"Possibly," Frederick chuckled and took a sip of the tea. "It all depends on how you ask the questions, Master Adam. Due to the rules that have bound me to the castle, I will not be able to tell you anything unless you ask the appropriate question."

"Of course there are rules." Adam sighed. "Bloody hell. How do you know the Evil Queen?"

"We were neighbors, so to speak, before her mother married the king in the neighboring country to Apfel." He smiled and set the teacup on the desk. "You see, Grimhilde was never originally from Apfel, no, she was from Hassige Magie. It was a terrible place where hateful magic was born. In our younger days things were both very simple and complicated. Grimhilde lost her father when she was just a few years old and her mother was a widow. She was, however, very beautiful, similarly to Grimhilde."

"Please don't make me think of that woman as beautiful," Adam grimaced and Frederick frowned.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Master Adam. I do not expect you to have the same taste as me, nor I you." He took a long sip of his tea before continuing. "Although she was a widow, Grimhilde's mother was very beautiful and though she was a peasant, it did not take long until the King of Hassige Magie noticed her. She refused multiple times and sought refuge with my family whenever the king would call on her, but after threats of burning down her house and killing her daughter she finally gave in. They were wed and it was the most beautifully sad thing that I ever had to attend. Grimhilde was excited because she liked the idea of living in a castle at least at first. After a month the whole excitement thing wore off and she was itching to go on hunting trips with me and my father again. However, the king refused to allow her out of the castle; no that that truly prevented her from doing anything she wanted. . ."

A small smile played on his lips before he took another sip of his tea. "She snuck out to go adventures with me until her father caught her, scorned her, then proceeded to take his anger out on her mother. That poor woman had three miscarriages because of the king and would later lose her own life at his angry drunken hands. She did everything in her power to protect Grimhilde, but she failed to protect herself and it left a deep scar on Grimhilde's heart. . . She never got over her mother's death and took her anger out on the king and exacted her revenge and began her long dark road of emptiness."

"What long dark road of emptiness?" Adam took his own cup and sipped from it and held it in his hands. It was still warm, but it would be cold soon.

"The road of dark magic." He growled. "The king was very fascinated by dark and forbidden artifacts and kept them lying around the castle as decoration. But she got interested in one or two spell books, and well, she just kept slipping after that. She tried poisoning the king several times to no avail, he had developed an immunity to several of the poisons she had tried on him because of assassination attempts in his youth. She tried cursing him, but he always wore a rosery and he actually prayed fervently for his own self protection. She got him the third time though, but she had to get a little help from that ridiculous Mirror. . ." Another growl, then Frederick sipped his tea again. "That blasted Mirror put her on a long path of darkness of which she could not return from."

"You keep saying that," Adam put his hand to his chin. "This road to darkness. What exactly does that matter?"

"Have you ever wondered how that Mirror exists, Master Adam?" Frederick sat back in his chair and looked at him with clear green eyes. "How the Mirror has a face, a voice, a mind? I know we live in a world with magic where there are endless possibilities, but what magic, what science is there in any Realm in which an inanimate object can think for itself? Hmm?"

Adam remained quiet as he did not have an answer.

"The whole reason why it is important and why she fell down that dark road, Master Adam." He set his cup down and leaned forward, "She sold herself to that Mirror. Not all at once, but at separate little moments in her life where she overly depended on that blasted piece of glass for help. It started off as a simple mirror in her bedroom that she would whisper her secrets and concerns to, but after the king had well . . . Taken her to bed to make an heir, she lost herself and the Mirror gave her exactly what she wanted. A way to rid that man from her life." His eyes glazed over and he looked as though he began to fade away in his memories. "All she had to do was ask me, and I would have done it regardless. . . But it never was quite good enough for her at such an anxious time in her life. . We were both kids and didn't know that a blood oath had that kind of power. . ."

Adam froze. Blood oaths were a powerful source for any kind of dark magic, but the binding contract that went along with it was very damaging. Great power with great consequences that often resulted in death.

"You enacted a blood oath with the Evil Queen?" Adam asked slowly. Frederick looked at him, but looked as though he were very far away.

"Neither one of us knew what it was going to do at the time, we were merely following the Mirror's instruction." Frederick slumped back in his chair. "Grimhildes killed the king and became the queen. No one questioned his death, and though the advisers in the court tried to argue her legitimacy to the throne, she became the queen. And it was just one domino after the other. She became the queen, promised to do her kingdom good, then the land suffered through a famine and very quickly a plague struck and took lives daily. She did not cope with it very well and went to the Mirror again for guidance, and well, she sold more and more of her humanity and soul to the Mirror to make it more complete while she made herself incomplete as she lost herself."

"What did she do?"

"She was able to stop the plague and pass it off with the black magic and a few cleansings to the people, however the famine was the worst thing that struck the land." He gripped the arms of the chair. "Grimhildes and I were the only ones to survive, really. The people long since passed, those who survived packed up and left, and she survived because of how much she sold herself to the Mirror, while I only lived because of the blood bond. Since she had no structure or clue as to how to fix the land since magic did nothing, she sold her entire land and country to Apfel; not long after the first Queen of Apfel passed in her childbirth with Snow White."

Adam's eyes widened. It had never truly been clear as to how she came to Apfel, but now that he knew, he finally understood why certain people looked at him strange. Although he was her self-acclaimed nephew of sorts from a sister that was never born in a country that no longer existed, it was no surprise that people thought he had just appeared in thin air.

"You see things coming together now, don't you Master Adam?" a sad smile fell over Frederick's face. "Upon selling her land to the king of Apfel, a strange sort of courtship developed between them and instead of giving her money to rebuild her nation for land, she just became his queen. The first few years were fine, she put up with Snow White, but as she had always been an only child, and she did sell part of her humanity she wanted little to nothing to do with the child. It only worsened when the king tried to establish a relationship with them." A frown fully embedded itself onto Frederick's face. "No, a relationship never developed between the Queen and Snow White, despite Snow White's best efforts. And since she wanted nothing to do with Snow White, the king slowly wanted nothing more to do with the Queen. This circle of nothingness put their relation in a twist and she turned to me for things and later the Mirror. . ."

Adam almost asked what sort of things the Queen could have possibly asked him for, but judging by the scar of unrequited love that was stitched through his story of unending faithfulness Adam could guess what it was for.

"When the king fell ill, a weird sort of turn around came about her." His brow furrowed. "She attended to Snow White as mother would, and attended to the king until his last dying breath. . . Though now that I look back on it, she more than likely cursed him and did her best actions to cover her dark secrets."

"She cursed the king?" Adam blinked, though he should not have been surprised. "Simply to be Queen?"

"It was one of her more simple curses, I agree, it was odd." He took a sip from his tea. "Even now, I have no idea what she was thinking. She was more than likely just listening to whatever the Mirror told her to do. And well, once the king was dead she cast Snow White into the role of a servant along with the rest of the staff and commanded the kingdom as a surprisingly fitful queen. The people loved her, praised her, and they all desperately wanted to find some sort of position at the castle. She lived a life of happiness for a time until Snow White became of age and the people began to notice her."

"This is the part that I'm most frequent with." Adam finished the rest of tea that was in his cup. It was cold, but he still finished it.

"As are most of the Dwellers of Books and Stories." Frederick sighed. "She got jealous of Snow White for whatever reason and it became her goal to rid herself of Snow White, and to regain her youth."

"The vampirism." Adam grimaced. Frederick nodded with the same grimace. He had seen it one too many times of the dried out corpses of young girls that were the poor and stupid prey to the Queen. It was as if she were the Spider and the young girls were the butterflies that had fallen into her web. The only one who she had not succeeded in capturing and killing was Snow White; or so the story is told.

"For whatever reason she herself could not kill Snow White." Frederick sighed and began to stack the cups onto the tray. "So she hired thugs and other low lives to do it, but they all failed. . ."

"Not the ones that I met today." Adam growled. Frederick raised his eyebrow, but made no comment of this.

"In their failure, she hired me to do something about it." Frederick stood and had a firm grip on the desk. His knees and arms shook. "I was her most loyal and faithful subject and I agreed to rid her of Snow White. .I was the Hunter who she hired to kill Snow White, as well as to keep all of the assassins out of the castle . . At first I had planned on doing just as the Queen had asked: carve out her heart and bring it to her in the magic box." His wrinkly old hand went to his chest. "When I took her to that thicket in the forest I . . .I . . . I just couldn't do it. I had her run, I scared her off, and I killed a doe and placed it's heart in the box instead. Had I known that the heart had been meant for the Mirror, I would have found a pig's heart."

"The heart was for the Mirror?"

"As I have been telling you throughout this story Master Adam." His shaking stopped and he reached for the tea tray. "The Mirror is an existence in the world that should not exist. The longer that it survives in Apfel the stronger it becomes. Had it actually received a human heart there is no telling what sort of destruction would have befallen Apfel!"

"Then what happened to you?" Adam's brow furrowed. "If you failed at your duty then - "

"I was the first test subject to her own poison that she had created." His gaze became soft as he looked at Adam.

"What do you mean?"

"I was the one who rested the strength of the Black Apple Poison that she created you with." He looked Adam up and down. "Though I find it a little unfair that you received life while I received death, I think that it is possibly better this way."

"Did you actually survive?" Adam blinked, and Frederick quietly shook his head. Adam could not help but sink into his own chair.

"No. No I did not." His shoulders slumped as he picked up the tea tray. "I died a horrible death in front of the only woman who I ever loved. . . And she watched me die as if I was a mere stranger to her." His wrinkly mouth rolled into a thin line and Adam did not know what to say to him. "Because I failed her, I ended up here in the Anti-Realm where I am to serve out my death sentence until I have redeemed myself; either here or in my past."

"And that is why you're tending to me. . ." Adam spoke slowly.

"Yes, Master Adam," Frederick nodded with a small smile. "That is why I'm attending to you." A moment of silence passed between them before the grandfather clock rang out calling the time of six o'clock. "Oh, that can't be right." His wrinkled screwed up into a frown as he looked at the clock. "They should have brought you your meal an hour ago."

Adam had not even realized that a whole hour had passed in the story telling.

"I shall have someone bring you your dinner immediately, Master Adam." Frederick sounded very displeased as he rearranged the tea items on the tea tray. "The nerve of these people!"

"It's quite all right, Frederick." Adam said thoughtfully as he watched Frederick.

"No it is not all right, Master Adam." He growled. "These people know their place and what they're supposed to do. This is unacceptable!"

Adam, up to this point, had yet to see the old man get in a tizzy about anything. Seeing him riled up about the Staff not doing their job was amusing, but Adam could not help but feel as though it was a farce.

"Did you need anything else, Master Adam?" Frederick cleared his throat and slowly seemed to calm down.

"No, that will be all." Adam shook his head and stood himself. "I'm just going to take a bath while I wait for the food then."

"As you wish, Master Adam." Frederick nodded and creakily bowed. He shuffled out of Adam's room and the door clicked softly behind him. Adam thought for a small moment that he could hear him continuing his rant. A smirk came to his face, but disappeared immediately once he saw the dirty bloody clothes in the hamper.

"Right. . ." He picked them up and took them with him. "To the bath."

He felt rather lonely now that Frederick was gone, but he had learned so much in such a small hour. It was definitely more beneficial than anything he had found in the library, but it still wasn't quite enough. He at least knew enough about the Queen, but he still could not understand why she was so adamant about killing Snow White. Even if she was jealous for so long it made no sense to kill her if she had demoted her to such a low level; doing any further demoting was just out of spite. Although the Queen could be spiteful, there was no reason to it, and although he would not put it past her to still do things just for the power and capability to do it, doing things senselessly and without reason was beneath her.

Adam shook his head and ran cold water in the large sink. He needed to soak the blood stained shirts in the cold water to lift the blood from the shirts. While the shirts soaked, he would soak again to take the aches form his own wounds away. Although he did not suffer the same knife wounds as the two imbeciles that he had to kill, his body ached from all of the poison that he had to use to kill them. Over the years of training and harnessing the levels of poison in his body Adam can control the strengths of the poisons, but he cannot completely rid himself of it. He could only relieve himself of the poison for a few moments in the bath where the water would momentarily remove it, however it only intensified afterwards. He wore three to four layers of clothes to prevent the toxins from leaking out and permeating the air and he could not touch anyone when his skin was exposed or it would cause serious damage or death to the unfortunate victims. There were five levels of toxicity.

The first level was Apple Poison, it often times acted as a perfume and could make people sick by breathing in by the sweet scent. It was the least toxic of the three, but it did cause long lasting effects. Often times the victim would fall into a deep and long sleep until they died of dehydration and starvation.

The second level was Black Poison, it was toxic and caused people to go mad, either mentally insane or in a fury. The Black poison would slowly rot the minds of the individual until it melted into mush.

The third level was Black Apple Poison was a combination of the two where it caused the individual who breathed in the scent to break out into a fit of laughter until they laughed to death.

The fourth level was White Poison, it was more of a gas, but it was poisonous and had noxious fumes that caused the individual to choke to death.

The fifth level was Black Death Poison, and it was as extreme as it sounded. This one often required Adam to be in a rage that wanted death and would cause an instant death. Today both Jack and Joe died of the Black Death Poison. His body would radiate an intense heat that could make water boil instantly, it would not only melt the skin off of individuals, but also boil blood and turn bone to ashes.

Adam sunk deeper into the bath and felt most of the tension leave his body. He looked down at his hands and feet and watched as the poison swirled around him in the water. He frowned and sighed. If only he could rid himself of the poison that cursed his very existence.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it!_

_This was a rather difficult chapter to write because there was so many directions that I could go with it. However, having Frederick being the Hunter and a childhood sweetheart was possibly my favorite direction to go with._

_I have a busy schedule coming up with a few constructions projects that I have in mind. Please be patient with me as I continue the writing._

_Thank you for coming along on the journey, stay tuned!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

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Chapter Fourteen

When Adam awoke the following morning, he was greeted by darkness, but not by a rainstorm, of which he was grateful for. His coat and laundry had been cleaned and neatly folded on the trunk at the end of his bed, and Adam held his head in confusion. He had not remembered going to bed last night, and though everything was relatively normal, he felt out of sorts; especially by the fact that he had no clothes on. He always wore many layers to prevent the poisons from his body to contaminate the sheets, but he only had his underwear on this morning.

"What the -"

His bedroom door opened up and Frederick shuffled into the room.

"Good morning, Master Adam." He shuffled towards the bed with the clinking tea tray filled with a few tarts, morning tea, and a few odd fruits that he had never seen before. "Did you sleep well?"

"I suppose I did?" he held his head and tried to think back to last night.

"I certainly hope so," Frederick chuckled. "I came back with your dinner and found that you had nearly drowned yourself in the bath last night."

"I what?"

"I found you in the tub with the water filled to your eyes." Frederick went in detail. "It is a good thing that I found you and not one of the other Staff members. You were practically drowning in your own poison!"

"That is impossible," Adam stood with his brow furrowed. "I am immune to my own poison."

"Have you actually ingested your own poison?"

"Yes, several times." He nodded his head seriously. "I had to build up my own immunity to all kinds of poisons through the Evil Queen's lessons."

"She always did have a thing for chemistry. . ." He sighed. "Well, as I said, I found you asleep and half drowned, fished you out clothed you and threw you in the bed. You need to make sure that you properly sleep, Master Adam. I do not need to be fishing you out of the tub every night."

"Right. . ." He cleared his throat, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'll be sure to remember that from now on."

"Very good, Master Adam." He stood straight. "I also cleaned the blood from the clothes that you brought back with you from Apfel."

"Oh" Adam blinked and saw the neatly folded clothes on his trunk. "You did not have to. I had planned on -"

"At ease, Master Adam." Frederick held up his hand with a smirk. "You managed to get most of the blood out, I just bleached them."

"Bleach?" He took the clothes with him and went behind the changing screen. Although Adam was completely hidden behind the changing screen, Frederick still turned to give him more privacy.

"Ah, don't worry about it." He shook his head. "It is one of those fascinating items that is only here in the Anti-Realm and doesn't exist in Apfel. It is a luxury for the messes I have to clean."

"I see." He raised his eyebrow as he picked up the blood free and freshly whitened shirt that had belonged to Jack.

"I trust you find them to your liking?" He placed his hands behind his back.

"Yes, thank you, Frederick." He murmured as he buttoned his shirt and pulled on a vest.

"You know." Frederick looked him up and down. "You should have just asked me for some peasant clothes if you're trying to blend in in Apfel. It would have been much easier than killing people. . ."

"No, they deserved it." He shook his head as he pulled on a pair of brown leather gloves.

"Oh?" Frederick mused.

"From what they told me." He slid into the worn blackish navy pants. "As well as how Snow White had acted, they touched her and literally carved her."

"Carved?"

"Yes, one of them gloated about his carving abilities and how Snow White would not be able to bear children because of it."

"Ah," Frederick growled slightly. "You must be referring to Jack and Joe. Two mercenaries that Grimhildes had hired for protection along the way. She kept them around because she liked how they weren't afraid to get their hands dirty in whatever situation she told them to do. Rather upset that you would have beaten me to their deaths now."

"You mean to say that you killed them?"

"In my version of the story, yes." He chuckled darkly. "I could never forgive them for what they did to Snow White; I could hardly forgive Grimhildes that she was the one that commanded it."

"For being a man who has walked with the Evil Queen throughout her entire life, you are ridiculously loyal to her."

"I am a loyal fool, yes." Frederick sighed. "However I am a fool who knows what she once was, who she once was, and at the end of the day I just want the woman that I fell in love with to come back."

"Even though she is long gone?"

"Yes," He nodded his head. "Even though she is long gone."

They stood there for a moment in silence; Frederick lost in thought and Adam at a loss of words. He had never been in love, had never known love and had no idea what to say in this situation.

"How is she?" Frederick asked suddenly. "Snow White, I mean?"

"She seems to be fine," Adam blinked in confusion. "May I ask why?"

"Well, if you've met Jack and Joe, you're more than likely going to meet me relatively soon." He smirked with a twinkle in his eye. "Which means that things are going to be very difficult for her with the things to come. . ."

"Would you be able to share anything further on that?"

"And spoil the ending?" He asked indignantly. "Absolutely not!"

"Very well." Adam couldn't help but chuckle. "Well then, how do I look?"

In comparison to his royal navy blue coat trimmed in gold that he always wore, his current attire made him look very peasant-ish. A long sleeved shirt, brown leather vest, brown leather gloves that went up to his elbow, blackish navy pants, and dark oiled brown boots that went to his knees.

"You are the most distinguished farmer I have ever seen. "Frederick chuckled.

"I wasn't going for distinguished." He grunted.

"Well, since you won't be able to do much of anything with your bare hand, you're fine, Master Adam." Frederick waved him off. "Now you need to eat your breakfast before you head out on your mission today."

Frederick shuffled his way out of the room and left Adam to his breakfast. Once the door closed Adam looed at himself in the mirror and could not help but frown. He really did look like a distinguished farmer, the only thing he was missing was the straw hat and pitch fork. He growled and looked away from the mirror and returned to his breakfast. Sunnyside up eggs on two slices of whole wheat toast, and English breakfast tea. A healthy breakfast to start his day. Without hesitation he snatched up the toast and eggs and ate them on his already empty stomach from his lack of dinner the night before. After inhaling the first one he inhaled the second one just as quickly and sacrilegiously drank his tea back in one full gulp.

Turning on his heal he slid his coat over his shoulders and headed to the library. Although he could not find anything that he wanted and needed to about Snow White and the Evil Queen Grimhildes he was certain that he would find books that would help in teaching Snow White how to read. If the library had the variety of books that were made for dummies, then certainly there had to be educational books in the library.

It was still early in the morning and from what he had learned from his cohorts, they were not early risers like himself so he would be able to enjoy a quiet and relaxing morning before setting out to Apfel. His footsteps echoed throughout the castle and the irritating ghosts that followed him whispered obnoxiously windily. When he entered the library, he discovered very quickly that he was not as alone as he had hoped to be. He found Mr. V sitting at one of the round tables with books on "Faerrie Script for Dummies", "Fantasia Realm", "The Song of the Firebird," and other odd sorts of books. Mr. V looked ragged and as if he hadn't slept in days. Although Adam had hoped he would slip by unnoticed, he heard the slap of the book closing and Mr. V's cane skittering across the floor.

"Mr. Apple Poison," he chuckled and half yawned. "What are you doing up so early in the morning?"

"It is easier to start the day early than late to make sure I have all the hours that I need." He stood still and respectfully spoke to Mr. V.

"Very clever, Adam." He yawned and seemed to gain years in doing so. "I wish I would do that more often, but alas, the life of an insomniac and coffee addict do not allow such things to happen in my life. Leaves too much shouting going on inside my brain." He tapped the brim of his hat before casually resting his hands on his cane.

"I sometimes wish that I could remain awake longer in the evenings." Adam shrugged. "But the mornings are just too promising to not get up early for them."

"Alas that there just simply isn't enough hours in a day for either mornings and evenings." Mr. V sighed. "What brings you here to the library so soon, my boy? Though I know you're an early riser, it is a little odd for you to come here first."

"I need to borrow a few books." He cleared his throat and felt suddenly warm.

"What sort of books?" Mr. V leaned forward on his cane.

"Ones that help with basic and beginning education. . ." He pulled at the collar of his shirt as he felt even more warm.

"Ah, well we definitely have those." Mr. V smirked, almost as if he knew. "Do you want writing books as well?"

"Yes, I should go ahead and grab those . . ." Adam blinked thoughtfully. Although he had become determined to teaching her how to read, he had no idea if she could write. Both were powerful tools to life. The ability to read was freedom for the mind and the ability to write was the freedom for the voice.

"Right then." He tapped his cane and began to walk. "Follow me." He twirled his cane at the end of his fingers as he led Adam down a series of aisles and columns.

"I'm pulling a phonics book, numbers book, writing booklet, and a few beginning reading books for you." He called over his shoulders and snapped his fingers. The books that he called out floated from the shelves over to Adams hands. "I'll send a leather folder of paper, quills, and ink as well for the reading and writing process; I'll even throw in a few candles for the late night studies."

The items that he called out, yet again, fluttered to life and organized themselves into a neat pile in the leather folder and rested itself in Adam's hands. He now had the leather folder full of clean papers, candles, ink, and quills with the five small books resting on top.

"Is there anything else that you can think of?" Mr. V smirked as he leaned on his cane.

"A drawing book. . ." He said thoughtfully. He remembered how much she went by pictures, perhaps she would like to try her own hand at drawing her own pictures.

"For beginners?" Mr. V blinked in surprise, but nonetheless snapped his fingers and made it so. The drawing book for beginners floated to Adam's small pile and stacked itself neatly on top with the others.

"And a blank journal." He spoke quickly, "One that is preferably red."

"Why red?" Mr. V quipped and snapped his fingers.

"Because I like red." He snapped, and Mr. V merely chuckled at him. An apple red journal with gold lined pages that had about an inch thick binding plopped itself gently onto the pile.

"That all?" Mr. V twirled his finger as he propped himself up on his cane.

"Yes, this is everything that I need."

"Well, not _everything_," He snapped his fingers and a well oiled brown leather messenger bag appeared out of thin air. "Take this with you for the books and leather folder." The flap flipped over, ready to receive the books. "This is a magical messenger bag that will allow you to still borrow the books, but they will also have a connection to the library. Meaning, that if for some reason you, I don't know, accidentally leave a book there, you can at least leave the bag there and the books will never go missing from here."

"So this bag is a portal?" He blinked as he threw the messenger bag over his shoulder.

"Of sorts," he nodded and guided Adam back the way that they came. "But it is nothing that you need to worry about."

"Oh, but I do." He spoke quickly. "I need to create another portal in Apfel so that I can have easier traveling -"

"Let me just stop you right there, my friend." He threw his arm around Adam's shoulders and tapped his chest with his cane. "There shall be no new portals created in any of the Realms. I've already explained this to some of the others, and now I'll explain it to you. We're not giving the Original Villains an easy access, or in their case a wormhole, for them to crawl through to see this Anti-Realm. It would change the story too drastically, violate the contracts that they've signed in this present time for their past selves, as well as cause confliction with the Door Between Realms." Mr. V casually and gently pushed Adam back with his cane until they had almost exited the library. "There shall be no new portals in any of the Realms." Adam glared down at him for a moment and prepared an argument in his mind to reenact with Mr. V, but he just held his hand up. "However, you can use this messenger bag as your portkey of sorts."

"My what?"

"Portkey, a magical item that allows you to travel between Realms." He explained simply with a shrug.  
"All you have to do is step inside of it, and you'll appear somewhere here in the library."

"Interesting." Adam marveled and looked down at the bag that rested at his hip. "How incredible."

"Should make it a little bit easier so you don't have to climb that mountain back everyday to get back here." Adam blinked at Mr. V's knowledge of Apfel and where the Door Between Realms lay. "Don't look so surprised, I'm the one that secured the Door Between Realms to that tree. I made sure it was high enough to keep unwanted people from snooping as well as to keep it out of the Queen's reach. She can't use her magic at the higher parts of the magic. I believe the atmosphere and air pressure of the mountain air affect the Mirror too much."

"You seem very knowledgeable of Apfel. . ." Adam tugged the messenger bag tighter over his shoulder.

"I've had plenty of meetings with the Evil Queen until I finally convinced her to allow you to be a Recruit." He groaned. "But that is a story for another day." He suddenly shoved Adam out of the library. "Now, get out of my library and start your mission. Your visit was the perfect distraction that I needed, but now it is time for you to leave and for me to get back to work."

"Thank you, Mr. V for this." He gestured to the bag and Mr. V shined a smile at him.

"Any time, friend." He grabbed the double doors and slowly closed them as Adam left the library.

Adam had gotten better at memorizing the layout of the Anti-Castle and knew the fastest route to the Wardrobe. Once he stepped through the dark world of glowing stain glass took him to Apfel where the rising morning sun greeted him in a soft warm hug as the morning rays touched the earth.

He stood in the sun's rays and could not help but close his eyes to soak it in. It was a gentle warmth that he had never known before and he loved the way it felt on his skin. It was the only thing that could come in contact with his skin that would not be tainted or poisoned or die. After gaining sufficient enough vitamin D he opened his eyes, just in time, and heard the dwarves whistling on their way into work. He stood at the top of the hill and watched as all seven marched across the log close to the waterfall whistling and singing away. The last one, the one named Dopey looked over his shoulder and gave a small wave towards Adam. Though he had no reason to, he waved back to the dwarf right before Dopey kicked his heels and scampered away to join the other dwarves.

Adam shook his head and made his venture down the mountain. He adjusted the messenger bag full of books on his shoulder and set out towards the town. He passed all the farmers from the day before, the children, and even the same wagons. The same people offered him a ride into town, but he politely declined and continued on his way to his own house in the town. He had not realized how close the house was to the mountain, but he appreciated the fact he did not have to trek all the way to the castle.

It was a modest two story home with a simple brown door, four Dutch windows with shudders on the front of the house, and a small brick chimney on top of the brown roof. He entered the house and was surprised to see how well furnished it was. Although he did kill Jack and Joe in the back of the house and he did clean up the mess that he made, he had yet to explore the house. There was not much on the first floor. There were two rooms on the left and the staircase leading up to the second floor on the right.

In the first room on the left there was a small sofa, a bookshelf with a minuscule collection of books, and a small round red carpet. The second room was the kitchen with a wood burning stove, sink, cabinets around the room, a large fireplace with a cast iron Dutch oven, and a small two top table with two chairs on either side of the small table. He immediately looked at the floor and was very satisfied with himself for having properly cleaned all the blood and ashes up. He often times just left his messes where they lied, however, if Snow White were to come and visit for her lessons, as well as nosey neighbors poking around, he did not need to leave the evidences of his villainy.

He skimmed through the cabinets and found only two plates, two cups, two bowls, a pot and a pan. A relatively well furnished kitchen for someone who just moved in. There was no food in the cabinets, so he would need to get groceries form the market at some point and time today. He turned on his heels and made his way up the stairs. He was surprised with how small the house was that his head did not touch the ceiling. Upstairs consisted of a full size bed, trunk at the foot of the bed, and a bathroom with a tub, washstand, and chamber pot. There was a desk and chair that sat in the window where he decided to drop off the messenger bag. He draped his coat on his bed and looked around the room.

There wasn't a single mirror in sight.

He popped his knuckles and double checked around the room. Under the bed, inside the trunk, in the bathroom, on of the washstand - he even went down stairs and still did not find anything. Despite not seeing a mirror in sight, he knew that she planted on somewhere in the house. She always had her mirrors everywhere to keep an eye on him; even in the Anti-Realm. He went back upstairs and finally found one, it was a simple silver hand mirror that lay face up. He snatched it up and quickly wrapped it in a handkerchief and tossed it into the drawer of the nightstand beside his bed.

With a sigh of relief he plopped down on the bed and was surprised by its softness. Although he had expected an empty and barren house, he was pleasantly surprised that it had the simplest of furnishings. They were too simple and too properly furnished for the Evil Queen to have furnished them. She always had a more expensive taste in her selection of items and even if Adam made a small or simple request she always found a way of making it looks expensive. Someone had to have lived in this house before he arrived; more than likely one of the poor souls that she had killed to get it. He eased himself off the bed and looked around the room. There were cobwebs in some of the corners of the room, and although everything was well furnished, it was obvious that someone used to live here and have left the house vacant for a while.

He grimaced and dragged his hand down the back of his neck. He hated the feeling that rested in his chest as he stayed in this house, but since the person who once occupied this was no longer here, it was out of his control; besides it was only a temporary fix until he completed his mission.

Not wanting to be in the little house any longer he quickly left and escaped to the market. Along the way there were a few of the peasants who pointed at him and whispered, but nothing he had not already anticipated since Frederick already told him that he looked like a distinguished farmer. . . Not entirely liking the eyes and whispers echoing around him, he tried to escape to the shadows as he would find his way to the market square. He simply followed his nose to sniff out where the freshest bread was baked. Sure enough, just as yesterday, there was a massive body of people crowding to get into the bakery. There was a small figure in a dingy rose dust shawl and small basket of apples on her arm that bobbed and weaved her way through the crowd until she managed her way in. Adam could not hide the smile that creaked into the corners of his mouth. He found her odd little mousy habits rather amusing.

When she finally emerged from the crowd at the baker's shop she held the basket close to her chest and looked lost, or just very overwhelmed. He worried that the bustling people were overwhelming her, and overcome with this sense of urgency, he went to her. Those doe brown eyes still searched the crowd as if looking for an exit, when they suddenly spotted him. She almost seemed to glow as she scurried and struggled through the crowd to get to him. Adam was able to push past the crowd much easier than she, and he reached her before she could reach him. Her face was flushed and she somehow looked paler than normal.

"Are you all right?" he asked as soon as he reached her.

"Oh, yes, just fine." She panted. "I just woke up a tad late this morning. I wasn't able to beat the morning rush. . .Good morning." She beamed up at him and he only blinked down at her. She was so oddly perky and happy.

"Good morning -" someone shoved into him, and though he was able to regain his balance quickly a small burst of blood lust ran through him rather quickly.

"Hey, watch it!" the peasant snapped as he went on his merry way.

"Are you all right?" Snow White peered up worriedly into his face.

"I'm fine." He growled and placed his hand at the small of her back. "I do think we should get out of this crowd though."

"Yes, I agree." She latched onto his arm and in an odd sort of synchronization they walked through the crowd with ease. She was surprisingly quiet for her usual chatty self that he had grown accustomed to. He glanced down at her and saw that she was sweating and was still flushed.

"Are you sure that you're all right?" he slowed his pace to make sure that he was not walking too fast for her.

"Yes, ye." She beamed up at him. "I'm just a tad tired is all."

"I thought you slept in late?" he raised an eyebrow down at her.

"I did." She nodded her head. "After I returned to the castle for dinner last night, I was required to do a double set of chores on top of what I already had to do. I made sure to get all of them done, though, just so I could be on time for the reading lessons."

"Double chores?"

"Yes," she frowned and her brow wrinkled. "I suppose some of the staff have quit and left the country. We're awfully understaffed right now and everyone is having to work double time."

Adam did not like the sound of that. It would appear as though the Evil Queen's appetite was still growing day by day.

"Well, after a bit of breakfast you can take a nap in my room if you like."

"Oh, I couldn't!" she almost yanked herself away from him. "That would be most rude of me."

"Not if I insist." He chuckled softly. "If you're too tired for the lessons and can't pay attention to them, there is no point in having them."

"Oh, no. Please, I promise that I'll pay attention!" Those doe brown eyes shined and pleaded with such innocence that it hurt Adam's chest a little.

"I did not say that I would not teach you." He had to look away from those pleading eyes. "Just that you need to be properly rested for the lessons. . ."

"I promise that I won't allow this to happen again." She spoke quickly as they continued their walk.

"At ease, Snow White," he sighed and squeezed her hand. "I will still teach you."

"Thank you. . ." She felt her grip relax a little on his arm.

"Can you read at all?" He asked softly.

"Only a little. . ." she admitted shyly and avoided his gaze.

"How much is a little?" He did not like how she avoided looking at him and spoke down in her ear.

"I know a few words, but I do not know how to spell or read more than word at a time." Her ears burned a bright shade of red.

"Can you write any?" He asked still softly.

"Only my name." She sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears. "My father showed me how to write my name when I was little, but that is all that I can write."

"That is still impressive." He acknowledged that everyone has a learning curb and for her age and her lack of knowledge it was impressive that she could write her name. "And your numbers?"

"Oh, I know my numbers very well." She regained some of her confidence in her smile. "I have to know my numbers to get the groceries and count the coins."

"Well, that is good to know." He chuckled as they stood in front of his abode. She stopped and blinked, rather oddly. "Well, this is my little house in the town."

"It's lovely." She smiled quickly. "Its just. . . " Her voice trailed as she turned her gaze back to the house and gripped her basket tightly.

"Its just what?" he carefully urged for her to continue.

"Its just that this house is very familiar to me. . ." She pursed her lips. "I could have sworn that my friend Amelia lived here. . ."

Without his invitation she walked up to the house, entered and merely waited in the small foyer space. Adam followed closely behind her and could fell his anxiety replacing the blood lust very quickly. Her back was to him so he had no idea what face she was making, and he didn't like that. Her head turned from side to side until her arms slowly fell at either side of her.

"Did she move?" he asked carefully with a cough to clear his throat.

"I suppose she did." Her voice was very quiet, just above a whisper. "Why didn't she tell me?" Snow White's right hand went to her left elbow and squeezed tightly. Her little shoulders sunk and Adam could not help but see a world of burdens sitting on her shoulders. He wanted to reach out and touch her shoulder, or poke her to move or something, but she was like a frightened deer at the moment that he dared not to move. They stood there for a few moments in silence before Snow White released her arm and turned to Adam with a smile.

"I'm sorry about that." She smiled to broadly and her eyes closed. "I suppose my friend Amelia moved."

The smile was forced and from what Adam could tell she was closing her eyes to force herself not to cry.

"Why are you doing that?"

"I'm sorry?" she blinked and he could see the touches of pink that lines her eyes. Her face was already flushed, but there was a distinct watery pinkness in her eyes.

"Why are you smiling like that?" he stood closer and studied her face. "Why are you forcing this smile?"

Those doe brown eyes were wide as she looked up at him and Adam wanted those tears to stop. It bothered him to see her like this; it just wasn't natural. Her lower lip quivered and she tried to turn her face away, but impulsively Adam grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him.

"What are you doing?" she gasped and froze.

"I don't know." He his her head in his chest so he did not have to look at her. "But I don't like that particular smile. A forced smile like that is not worth the mask you pretend to wear."

"Adam. . ." she tried to push away from him, he held her firm.

"Once you've sorted through your feelings." he cleared his throat and held her still. "Then we can enjoy breakfast and start your lessons."

"Yes. . ." she sniffled and before she could utter another word, she broke down into a fit of tears. She allowed herself to cry and she slowly lost strength in her knees and began to droop to the floor. For whatever reason, Adam drooped to the floor with her and merely held her as she cried. Her little hands held onto his shirt and her head rested on the leather vest as she cried. Whether it was because of how he hated it when women cried or the fact he was paranoid of her accidentally touching his skin, or her tears soaking through his shirt and allowing the poison to seep through and kill her early, his chest ached as she cried.

He was not sure how much time had passed, but she had eventually stilled and quieted her crying and was no longer moving. A small panic rose in Adam as he was aware of how wet his shirt was with her tears. He jerked her off of him to see if his toxins touched her, and discovered that she had cried herself to sleep. Seeing her at this angle he could see the small dark circles that rested under her eyes. With a sigh he scooped her up in his arms and almost threw himself off balance as he stood because of how light she was. He carefully stood and went upstairs and set her on the bed.

She did not move when he laid her on the bed and slept soundly even as he went downstairs. She was so light and he could feel the bones in her spine as he carried her upstairs. She had to have been starving on top of being exhausted.

"At this rate, that old hag will kill her by working her to death." He sighed as he went into the small living room area and sat on the couch. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he tried to sort through his own feelings.

He was getting more emotionally involved, to his own surprise, than he ever anticipated and only complicated this entire mission. He was here to kill Snow White, yet here he was comforting her and prepared to teach her how to read. He leaned forward and held his head and ran his hands through his hair.

"What is wrong with me?"

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far~!_

_So sorry for the late update. I've had a little bit of a writer's block with this story, but I think I finally found a break through with the story. The story finally wants to write itself instead of me writing it, so hopefully with all this extra time on my hands with the whole virus situation, I'll get a few more things done._

_If you haven't already, please check out my other story "Another Chance for Disney Villain Recruiters" and stay tuned for my third story that I'm working on._

_I hope that you're staying healthy and strong during this scary time. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think of the story so far._

_Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

A few hours had passed before Snow White eventually made her way downstairs. It was still early morning, but lunch was still a few hours away. As Snow White walked downstairs, she found Adam deep in thought in the small kitchen. His head was in his hand as he skimmed over the books in his lap.

"What is wrong with me?" he continued to think. "She is literally in the house. I have every opportunity and chance to kill her now. The job could be over and done with at this very moment. All I'd have to do it put my hand over her face and she would melt away . . ."

Though the thought was easy, it was obvious, there was an irritating sensation in his chest that caused an aching feeling that was almost as toxic as his poison. Killing her would be so easy, yet he also found it so difficult to do. He was so conflicted with himself that he had barely heard her come down the creaky stairs. His head snapped up to the stairs and an embarrassed Snow White stood at the foot of the stairs rubbing her eyes.

"You're awake." He cleared his throat as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry for falling asleep. . ." her hands rested in front of her and she dropped her gaze. "That was most impolite and rude of me and -"

"You are perfectly fine." He cut her off. He did not want to hear her apologizes for simply being an emotional human being. "All that matters is that you have rested up and should be ready for your lessons."

"Still -"

"Don't apologize again." He held his hand up and gestured to the seat beside him. "Come, sit. Let's see what you know."

"Not much. . ." She laughed nervously as she walked over and sat at the edge of the seat.

"You said you could write your name, yes?" He passed over a quill and paper to her. "Would you please write it for me?"

"Yes," she nodded as she took the quill and paper. She ever so slowly and carefully scrawled her name on the paper. The ink was written thinly and the name was written in a pretty and curly script. When she finished dotting her 'i' and crossing her 't' she smiled shyly and slid the paper back over to him.

"It is really pretty." He complimented as he read her clean handwriting. "I'm very impressed."

"I can't write many things," she twisted her fingers in her lap. "But writing my name was one of the few things that my father taught me before he passed.

"He did a good job of it." He set the paper aside and slid a new paper over to her. "I have written a few words here," he tapped the paper. "It is not to intimidate you or to scare you, I just want to see if you can read it. "

There were five simple words: Adam, Book, Cat, Dog, Forest.

He watched as she stared at the words, her lips her curled in her mouth, her brow was furrowed, and her cheeks were slightly puffed out.

"C-cat," She stammered slightly and pointed to the word cat on the page. "I recognize this one."

"Is that the only one?" He asked politely.

"I'm sorry. . ." She twisted her fingers and looked down at her lap. "Cat is the only one that I recognize."

"Can you tell me how you read it?" He urged.

"C-A-T." She enunciated each letter as she pointed to them.

"So you go by the letters." He took the mental note and pointed to 'dog'. "Can you try this one?"

"D-" She started and her mouth began to move with the letters. "O -G. . .Dog. . ." She blinked as she realized what the word was. "Dog?"

"Yes, the word is dog." He used his hand to hide his smile. "This one." He pointed to 'book'.

"B" She started with the sound of the letter 'b' then furrowed her brow as she looked at 'oo'. "O-K. . .Bok?"

"Oo," he corrected her gently and made another mental note.

"Bo-ok." Another smile once she realized the word. "Book."

"You seem to know your alphabet and sounds really well," He bent over and picked up a small phonics book for her. "Which is really good because it will be a little easier than I anticipated. Can you write your alphabet?"

"Um. . . Not really." She sounded distracted. "Aaaaa. . ." She mumbled slightly.

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem," he dug through his the stack of books and picked up the pamphlet that had the alphabet in it. "I have a few writing exercises for you."

"A-Dddd," She murmured softly.

"I also have a small present for you." He cleared his throat and picked up the journal he had chosen for her. "I brought you a journal so you could practice - "

"A-m." She continued. Adam turned and saw that she was pointing to the first word on the page he had originally handed her. "Adam."

Adam froze as he realized she was trying to read his name. He hadn't skipped it entirely on purpose, but he just assumed that 'cat' and 'dog' would be easier words since those were animals and they roam everywhere in Apfel. A hammer slammed against his ribs as she continued to stare at his name and practice saying it.

"Adam." She repeated. "Is this your name, Adam?" Those soft brown eyes looked up at him and he could feel heat rising in him.

"Yes, that is my name." He took a deep breath.

"I like it." She smiled and ran her fingers over the name. "It looks really pretty."

"That is the first time I've heard that." He snorted.

"I like the 'A'," She beamed up at him. "A in apple. I just like the way it sounds."

"Well." He coughed to clear his throat and tried to get rid of the heat that was rising inside of him. "Thank you. These are for you." He slid the books over and her hands immediately went to the red book.

"This is such a pretty color," she awed over the book. "It is as red as an apple!"

"I figured you would like that one." He felt relieved that she finally stopped saying her name. "It is something so you can practice writing in."

"Thank you." She clutched the journal to her. "I love it."

"Well, shall we get started?" He handed her a quill.

"Yes." She took the quill and he showed her the alphabet and the writing lessons began.

Learning to read goes along with learning how to write. With each word learned, there is a spelling that goes along with it, with each new spelling and new word, the world of vocabulary and diction can open up door to knowledge that make anyone powerful. Reading is what gave Adam his only freedom all those days, all those nights he was jammed and stuffed into a dungeon cell. He could only hope that it would give her a new strength to get her out of Apfel.

They went over writing the different letters of the alphabet, the sounds of the alphabet, and over the different short and long vowels along with some of the suffix sounds. An hour passed much too quickly for both of them, and whenever their stomachs started growling, they were surprised by how much time had passed. Snow White pulled out the tarts and Adam boiled the water for the tea.

"There was so much. . ." Snow White sighed as she looked at all of the papers on the table. "I just hope that I can remember everything."

"You don't have to get it all at once." He tried to reassure her. "Take it slow and practice often. The more you practice the more you'll learn."

"It is really intimidating," she admitted as she carefully held the tea cup. "But I really want to learn."

"So long as you're willing to learn, I'll do my best to make it easy." He promised. "If you even remotely try to say that you want to quit, it shall immediately become difficult."

"I wouldn't waste your time like that." She pouted slightly. "I would not be here if I were going to quit so soon."

"That's good." He nodded in approval. Not knowing what to say things just fell into a soft silence. Adam still had so many things on his mind and he could not get rid of the feeling of confliction that warred inside of him. He glanced up and watched as she carefully sipped her tea and daintily ate her apple tart. She was already skin and bone with barely any meat on her, more than likely because of the way the old hag rationed her food. The raggedy maid's attire that she wore was baggy, and though she wore an apron to her, he could see how it just did not fit her properly. With how tiny she was killing her would be so easy; yet the more that he looked at her the more he did not want to kill her. Killing her would be so easy, yet keeping her alive just seemed to be so difficult.

She was sipping her tea when her brown eyes suddenly looked to him over the rim of the cup.

"Is something the matter?" She cooed and set her cup down.

"No." He shook his head and forced himself to blink. "What time did you say you needed to be back at the castle."

"Oh my goodness!" Her hand flew to her cheeks. "I completely forgot! Today is laundry day! If I'm not back everyone will -"

"I'll walk you there." He stood as she did. Before she could politely argue, he already had his cloak and hers and waited at the doors with her. She had her books in her hand and carefully set them into her basket that she brought. They exited the house and Adam shut the door tight behind him, not bothering to lock it behind him since he would return relatively quickly. Apfel was also a much safer place than the Anti-Realm that even if someone tried to break into his house, he would just kill them as easily as he had killed the henchmen.

As they walked through the streets they walked in yet another silence, well not entirely silent since Snow White was humming. As they walked in the sun, Show White almost seemed to glow, as if the sun was giving her a new sort of energy. Although Adam enjoyed the sunlight's warmth, he found that his energy was slowly depleting.

"Are you hot?" Snow White asked softly as she peered up at him.

"What?"

"I beg your pardon, but you look a little flushed." She pulled a small and white handkerchief from her basket and gently dabbed his cheek.

"I-I'm fine!" he quickly snatched the handkerchief from her hand and held it to his face before the poison from his skin could seep through and touch her. "It is a little warm out."

"Well, you are wearing quiet a few layers in the spring. . ." She frowned slightly. "Is it the fashion of things from where you come from?"

"What?"

"You come from where Queen Grimhilde once reigned, yes?" She raised a thin eyebrow at her. "She often times tends to wear long sleeves and high collars. I just wondered if it were the fashion."

"In an odd matter of speaking," He grimaced. "It is, but not for the reasons that you think."

"It is not cold there?"

"Only in winter." He chuckled politely. He had to recall his memories as well as what Frederick told him. "But the clothes masks things that we don't particularly want to be seen. . ."

"Masking things, huh?" She hummed. "That would explain a few things. . . Do you have a lot of scars?"

"What?" he stopped and looked down at her. She stopped with him and looked away shyly.

"I'm sorry." Those brown eyes looked up pleadingly at him. "I didn't mean any offense, I just thought that well. . . You do wear gloves and high collars, I just assumed that you had scars just like my Step Mother."

"You've seen her scars?" He whispered and almost took a step back. Over the years with playing with Dark Magic and playing with things she was not supposed to, she had to sell parts of herself, made the wrong deals, and did whatever she thought was necessary to acquire her magic powers. Queen Grimhilde wore the long robes and the high collared dresses mostly for the regal fashion, but also to hide her scars that would never disappear no matter how much maiden's blood she drank. Although it was not obvious now in her youth, in her old age as an old hag her veins were black, her blood vessels almost always looked bruised, and her wrinkles would never tighten up again. Her scars from Dark Magic haunted her throughout her entire life.

"Only once." She nodded and clenched her basket tightly in her hands. "It was when I was young, when my father was still around. She - I - We were supposed to bond, have a special night where it was just the two of us. A sleepover she had said. . . Well, I slept in her room, just like I was supposed to, and I was in her bed waiting for her while she put on her evening lotions and potions. She had these very faint scars from her wrists, all the way up her arms. I had asked her about them and - and - and well, she threw me out of her room and we could never be friends after that."

"She has always been rather . . .nasty." He took a step closer to her and carefully touched her elbow. "I've known her all my life and she is not the most pleasant of people for even me to be around. She is not one who particularly likes to be close to anyone."

"Do you think I could ever fix things between us?" She looked down at her hands, as if she actually did something to her.

"I don't think that you ever did anything to her." He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "I believe that she will need to make that first step if anything is ever going to change between you two."

"You're probably right." She nodded with a huff. "I just wish I could do something."

"Who knows," He removed his hand from her shoulder and held his elbow out to her. "Maybe things will change sooner than we think."

"I sure do hope so." She naturally slid her hand into his arm.

They continued you to walk to the castle, and in an odd fashion, Adam escorted her through the front gates and not the back pathway that would lead them to the dungeons. If the Queen were able to watch him as much as she actually threatened she would more than likely be livid. He has had multiple opportunities throughout the day to kill her in quiet ways that would go unnoticed, and he didn't. Although he managed a smile on his face for Snow White's sake, he knew he was in a world of trouble. He looked down at Snow White, listened to her soft and happy little hum, and despite knowing that he would be punished for his actions, he could not help but feel as though it were worth it. The swelling in his chest, the constant heat that surged through his arm with her little hand resting there, and the odd peace that he felt when being around her told him that it would all be all right; somehow.

* * *

Queen Grimhilde

Although she desperately wanted to install mirrors throughout the house that she had ever so carefully selected for Adam, the Mirror told her that it would not be wise to invade all of his privacy. He barely had any in the castle to begin with, and if she dug in too deeply he would not cooperate with her. Choosing to listen to the Mirror, who has yet to steer her wrong, rather than her gut and intuition that made her impatient and impulsive she did not put up any mirrors in the house. However, she also did not remove any mirrors that were already there. Since the original inhabit was a young female that had already served her purpose in providing fresh blood for her infinite youth, she assumed that there would be some mirrors, whether a small compact or handheld mirror or a medium sized half mirror. The only mirror that she could tap into was a mirror that was shoved in a drawer under old rags that hid the world in darkness and muffled any sound that could possibly be heard.

Much to her disdain she only caught sight of them through her mirrors on their way back to the castle. She noticed that Snow White was in perfect condition. No scratches, no scars, no bruises, just healthy pale white skin that was still flushed with life and youth.

"That cursed boy." She hissed and her nails scratched the walls and left indents. "He is wasting my time."

"Your time is not being wasted, My Queen." The Mirror argued as his green masked face appeared.

"I fail to see how this boy will be of any use to me!" She snapped and flung her arm out. "He has already been with her, alone with her mind you, and he has still yet to inflict any harm to her."

"Do you yourself not like to wait for the right moment, My Queen?" He sighed. "All things come to those who wait."

"I am aware of that, Mirror." She lashed out again. "But he has not proven himself worthy of my time!"

"You also do not know what I know." He growled.

"You also refuse to give me any information regarding any of this!"

"Because as soon as I tell you it will no longer be true to happen."

A ghastly and beastly roar that was far from feminine or sexy escaped her and caused her to convulse in erratic actions. She threw things around the room, broke jars and beakers, and a slew of curses in Apfel and Black Magic escaped her.

"Pitching a fit like a child is most unbecoming of you, My Queen." He rolled his eyes at her. "I understand that you're thirsty and having to suppress your powers, but please, try to have a little decorum."

"What would you know?" She growled and threw an acid filled beaker on the wall next to the Mirror. "You're just a Mirror! You may be all knowing, or pretend to be so, but you do not get to tell me how to act. You're not my mother. You're not my father. You're not even one of my dead husbands!"

"Of course, I'm not any of those people." He rolled his eyes. "If you would have had any of those people, save the deceased husbands, you would not have had need for me and would not be here where you stand."

She stood, her hands in fists shaking at her sides, her green eyes blazing, the green fires in the torches burning brighter and stronger. Her nostrils flared and it was almost as if all the air was sucked out of the room.

"Are you about to pitch another fit?" The Mirror sneered. "Please, feel free to disgust me with such irrelevant and unladylike behavior. Please feel free to prove my point as to why I cannot tell you anything that would benefit your future."

She opened her mouth, ready to scream and rage, when a bell from overhead rang out. Her head snapped to the bells and she only rolled her eyes. Her presence was needed in the Throne room.

"It would appear as though you are being summoned, My Queen." The Mirror snickered. "Please, go see what it is and tell me what plan you decide to go with. I will be most amused to see what you decide to do."

In one of those rare instances, Queen Grimhilde wanted nothing more than to break the Mirror into a thousand pieces. However, if she broke that mirror she would lose all of her magical powers, abilities, and knowledge. Despite her temper, there were some things that were more important for her future than for her temporary present wants. Having her magical powers for the rest of her life was definitely one of those things she would disregard her temper for.

Without another word she left her dungeons and her lair and ascended the stairs that would lead her to the world of fools that were at her beck and call. As she walked she steadied her footsteps, arranged her sleeves and cloak to flow behind her, and reset the crown on her head. An image of dark ethereal beauty she waltzed down the halls before arriving to her throne room. She always liked the way that sounded her throne room, her castle - there was just something she enjoyed about this Realm belonging to her.

An obnoxious trumpet sounded in the announcement of her arrival. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and her face twisted into a regal smile worthy of the queen who was the fairest of them all. She ascended the stairs to her chair and took her seat in the center of the room. Her back was straight against the back of the chair, her arms outstretched and rounded the lengths of the armrests, and her feet crossed at the ankles as he skirts draped themselves elegantly around her chair.

She looked out to the marble floors and her eyes rested on a messenger with puffy clothes looking ridiculous and oddly shaped. There was a feather poking out of his oversized hat. His face was as puffy as his clothes, more than likely because of the ridiculous white puffy collar that seemed to be choking his esophagus.

"Your Majesty," his voice was considerably high pitched, and squeaked as he bowed. "I am Humphrey from the land of Francka and under King Ferdinand, I have been sent here to request an audience with the young princess Snow White for the possible engagement to Prince Florian Ferdinand."

"Snow White?" Her well manicured nails dug into the arms of the chair.

"Yes." He blinked slightly confused. "The princess Show White does dwell here, yes?"

"Yes, she does." She smiled and it took quite a lot of self control to control the twitching of her nose and cheek. "However, at the moment she is in her. . . Lessons. However you can schedule an audience with Snow White in a month."

"Well, the audience is not for me, Your Majesty." He cleared his throat nervously. "It is for the Prince Florian Ferdinand. I already traveled two weeks by carriage to arrive here. By the time that I return it will be a rushed time for the Prince to make his audience here."

"Well, that will work out just nicely." She smiled darkly as a plan began to formulate. "We have the annual Apfel spring festival that will be next month. I think it would be the best time for Apfel to represent the princess Snow White, and I would love to get to know the king of Francka. So this is an acceptance to the audience and an invitation to King Ferdinand and Prince Florian Ferdinand to come and stay in Apfel."

"My King will look forward to your invitation, Your Majesty." The messenger Humphrey smiled. "He used to visit the late King of Apfel before his passing quite often."

"Did he now?" Her throat felt tight and it was becoming painful to keep her face composed. "I do not believe that I ever had the chance to meet him."

"Surely not, Your Majesty." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "At the time of your marriage to the late King of Apfel King Ferdinand lost his wife Queen Isabella during her second childbirth to princess Cecila."

"I'm terribly sorry to hear this." Her hand covered her mouth to hide the smile that twitched into place rather inappropriately. "Please send my condolences along with my invitation to King Ferdinand."

"On behalf of my king, I thank you, Your Majesty." He bowed politely again. "With that said, I shall be returning to the kingdom immediately."

"So soon?" She hoped the higher pitch in her voice would mask the relief of finally getting rid of him.

"The sooner that I leave, the sooner that we can prepare." He bowed again before turning on his heel and leaving. She sat and watched him leave and narrowed her eyes.

He was here for too short and simple of a time for this to be a mere request for an audience for a princess that she had done her best to hide from the rest of the world. If the king already knew of her existence, then this possible engagement and marriage could ruin everything she had been planning in killing Snow White; but it could also open doors to a new bloodbath if she played her cards right. She could still get rid of Snow White without, begrudgingly, having to actually kill her, and still be able to hide her tracks of killing the staff members whenever she got thirsty.

Yes, this could very well work in her favor; but it could also be a plot to lure her out and expose her for the real person that she both is and is not.

"Choices, choices, what to choose?" She murmured as she leaned on her right hand and stared out into the throne room. "Perhaps the Mirror will have a suggestion, if not an answer for me. . ."

As she looked out into the empty throne room, she caught the smallest glimpse of Adam stalking off. A smirk slowly grew on her face as her plan began to grow. "Yes, this will be perfect." She stood and made her way to return to her lair. "And I have the perfect key to do so with.

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_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far!_

_I know this was a rather slow chapter and that this story is kinda dragging, but I promise it will be getting better soon. I had a bit of writer's block with this and tried focusing a little bit more on the background story "The Firebird Ashe Scatter" for another character Ashe Scatter from my "Another Chance for Disney Villains" which you should totally check out if you haven't already. ^_^_

_Please let me know what you think of the story so far. I would love to hear your thoughts on this._

_Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

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Chapter Sixteen

Upon escorting Snow White into the castle, she thanked him for their lesson then proceeded to run off to do her chores. She left him towards the entrance of the castle, and although he could be figuring out where he needed to put a potential portal, he found himself lingering in the foyer. He casually and rather lazily looked at the architecture and was surprised by all of the details. It was so clean despite the fact she regularly ate the staff. The castle that he knew in the Anti-Realm had little to no roof and had plenty of gaping holes and wreckage all around. The fact that the columns actually held the room and the roof up surprised him the most because he could not help but feel an anticipation of the ceiling falling in.

As he continued to study the room and relish in the warmth of the day, he noticed a puffy figure scurrying about nervously, almost as if he were lost. He had to have been lost because although he was dressed as a royal messenger, his colors and attire represented a different kingdom which meant that he did not belong here. Not necessarily wanting to help the poor fool Adam remained in the shadows of the columns and watched the messenger make his way to the throne room. As the messenger passed by Adam saw that he was not alone and lost, but being informed by a fellow servant of Apfel and having growing anxiety with all the warnings of how to properly act before Queen Grimhilde if he wanted to live through his visit and actually return to his own kingdom.

"And they say that the king of Apfel died of a heart attack?" He hissed a whisper. "With how dangerous this woman is it would not surprise me if she murdered him herself!"

"Please. Sir." The servant stopped and help him by the shoulders. "Please keep your voice down. The walls still have eyes and ears. If you keep talking like that you are only guaranteeing that you shall not survive the night!"

"How do expect me to just go in there and deliver my message from my king to a queen that is dangerous?"

"Very carefully." The servant said bluntly. "Otherwise you will know how careless you were."

"R-R-Right." The messenger gulped and continued to follow the servant to the throne room.

Still hiding in the shadows, Adam could not help but grow very curious of this messenger and his message to the old hag and could not help but continue to follow them in the shadows. On the way to the throne room the scenery became somewhat more familiar to Adam, if only for the fact that everything was in deep dark colors and provided and overabundance of shadows to hide in.

The servant brought the guest messenger into the throne room and left him standing nervously in the middle of the room alone. The old hag had yet to leave her dungeon lair, more than likely eating another poor staff person, and the guest messenger looked ready to make a mess of himself. The room only had windows on the ceilings and roof to allow any light into the throne room, and although that would more than likely provide plenty of light in the room the sky was overcast and made the room darker than it normally would be. Staying between the ridiculous suits of armor and over-enlarged plants Adam silently paced in the shadows as he too waited for the old hag to make her appearance.

From what Adam noticed she did not normally keep people waiting, it raised too many suspicions around her otherwise. However she was not absent for too long before he heard her heels clicking slowly and somewhat gracefully to the throne room. The doors were opened by servants on the other side upon her arrival and she walked in rather dramatically with her cape billowing about her as she walked. Adam could not help but roll his eyes at her and scowl at the stupid messenger who fell to his knees at her beauty. To the messenger she more than likely looked like the vision of perfected royalty whereas Adam could only see her as the spider ready to devour her next prey.

Just as slowly as he had heard her come and just as dramatically as she entered she waltzed to her chair before sitting down and florishing her skirts and cape to sit in the perfect position to make her look as regal as possible. Despite how much Adam detested this he could see how well it was working on the puffy messenger boy. Adam watched as her poisonous green eyes scanned the marble floors before her eyes rested on a messenger with puffy clothes looking ridiculous and oddly shaped. Though her face remained still Adam could tell by the look in her eyes and her posture that she was both amused by the messenger's presence as well as disgusted by his ill fitting attire.

"Your Majesty," His voice was considerably high pitched, and squeaked as he bowed and it took everything within Adam not to smile because he swore that he heard the faintest ripping sound.. Not to mention those puffy pants were not doing anything for his already large bottom.

"I am Humphrey from the land of Francka and under King Ferdinand, I have been sent here to request an audience with the young princess Snow White for the possible engagement to Prince Florian Ferdinand." Adam could not help but find his name fitting for such a low status man as he, but tried to keep his thoughts from wandering too far now that Snow White's name had been mentioned.

"Snow White?" Her well manicured nails dug into the arms of the chair and although the messenger did not know it, he was already screwing up his fate of returning to his kingdom.

"Yes." He blinked slightly confused. "The princess Show White does dwell here, yes?"

Even Adam had to blink at this. It was obvious to him that Snow White was here, but that was also because he was sent here to essentially rid Snow White's existence from the Realm. He had not considered how well of a job the old hag could have done in either hiding or covering up Snow White's entire existence in this Realm. From what he had seen amongst the town people they too had little to now knowledge of her existence and only knew her name as if it were something that would pass in the wind. It seemed that very few people knew that Snow White did in fact still dwell in the castle as well as Apfel.

"Yes, she does." She smiled and it took quite a lot of self control to control the twitching of her nose and cheek. Adam could see her blood lust rising; perhaps she hadn't actually eaten before she arrived. "However, at the moment she is in her. . . Lessons. However you can schedule an audience with Snow White in a month."

Adam, though he was already still now that he was watching this meeting, had gone rigidly still and was sure that his heart had stopped beating at some point. The fact that she said that Snow White was at a lesson meant that she _knew_. A cold sweat began to bead on his forehead and he quickly dabbed it away before the poisonous aroma could waft into the air.

"Well, the audience is not for me, Your Majesty." He cleared his throat nervously. Adam swore he heard another ripping sound. "It is for the Prince Florian Ferdinand. I already traveled two weeks by carriage to arrive here. By the time that I return it will be a rushed time for the Prince to make his audience here."

"Well, that will work out just nicely." She smiled darkly as a plan began to formulate. "We have the annual Apfel spring festival that will be next month. I think it would be the best time for Apfel to represent the princess Snow White, and I would _love_ to get to know the king of Francka. So this is an acceptance to the audience and an invitation to King Ferdinand and Prince Florian Ferdinand to come and stay in Apfel."

Adam did not like this. He did not like this at all. The fact that the old hag "loved" this idea of reintroducing Snow White to people could only bring about more trouble for Adam. Although he was fearful of whatever plot the old hag was cooking up he could not help but have an angry heat building in the pit of his stomach at the idea of this prince just coming in and seeking an audience with Snow White. "_If he wanted an audience with her, he should have damn well have done it before now_!" Adam thought and found himself balling his hands into fists. However, he did not let them go as he continued to listen.

"My King will look forward to your invitation, Your Majesty." The messenger Humphrey smiled. "He used to visit the late King of Apfel before his passing quite often."

"Did he now?" Her throat felt tight and it was becoming painful to keep her face composed. "I do not believe that I ever had the chance to meet him."

"Surely not, Your Majesty." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "At the time of your marriage to the late King of Apfel King Ferdinand lost his wife Queen Isabella during her second childbirth to princess Cecila."

"I'm terribly sorry to hear this." Her hand covered her mouth to hide the smile that twitched into place rather inappropriately. "Please send my condolences along with my invitation to King Ferdinand."

"On behalf of my king, I thank you, Your Majesty." He bowed politely again. "With that said, I shall be returning to the kingdom immediately."

"So soon?" She hoped the higher pitch in her voice would mask the relief of finally getting rid of him.

"The sooner that I leave, the sooner that we can prepare." He bowed again before turning on his heel and leaving. She sat and watched him leave and narrowed her eyes.

Adam could not help but roll his eyes at the messenger's obvious fear for his life and the feigned innocence the old hag tried to pull on the messenger. As he studied Queen Grimhilde's face Adam could not help but have a foreboding feeling in his chest. She was scrutinizing the messenger and was plotting something that would in one way or another get rid of Snow White, even if it were simply from this castle along with killing her.

Adam suddenly felt ill, like he always did when she was plotting something that would cause him harm. Whatever she was scheming was not only going to affect Snow White but also himself; to this Adam was slowly regretting his lessons with Snow White this morning. . .

Holding his nose, Adam looked out into the throne room and realized that he had stayed a few moments too long because he felt those green eyes searching for him. He had not even realized that the messenger had already left and that he and Queen Grimhilde were the only ones left in the throne room. Her voice crackled with a cackled and made Adam jump.

"Choices, choices, what to choose?" She murmured as she leaned on her right hand and stared out into the throne room. "Perhaps the Mirror will have a suggestion, if not an answer for me. . ."

Not wanting to be caught for eavesdropping, Adam quickly and quietly escaped through the shadows to return to the long hall that led up to the throne room. As the fresh air suddenly hit him, he realized that he had been holding his breath and as he released it felt bile rising in his throat. He wanted to vomit. He searched for the nearest giant potted plant and allowed his body to empty out the small contents of his stomach. He hated the fact that with just a simple look of reprimanding him from that old hag was enough to cause all of his anxiety to stir up his stomach acid and make him sick. It was all the trauma of torture she had done over the years that had left its severe mark on him.

With his stomach emptied he grabbed the edge of the potted plant tightly and found himself sweating up a storm as he shivered from his cold sweat. "Damn it." He hissed and pulled out a handkerchief. He went to dab his forehead with it, however, he saw that it was the one that Snow White had pressed to his forehead earlier and he quickly shoved it back into his pants pocket before reaching for his handkerchief in his breast pocket. With one of his own handkerchiefs he finally dabbed the sweat from his forehead and looked up to make sure he was along. Much to his dismay, he was not.

"Adam?" Her dove like coo whispered on the other side of the giant potted plant. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." he staggered to his feet to a shaky stand. "Just a mild heatwave hit me."

"Oh my goodness." She dropped the basket of laundry that she had and rushed over to him. "You are sweating quite a lot."

"I am aware." He panted and found the area to be spinning and held his head. "I just need a moment to catch my breath."

"You should sit down a moment." She urged and grabbed him by his elbow.

"Not here." He shook his head, much to his regret. "It's too hot. . ."

"I know a place." She tugged him along.

"Is it far?" He had to place the handkerchief over his mouth because he could feel the acid in his stomach stirring around again.

"Not the way I'll take you." She promised and gingerly but firmly tugged him along. "Just follow me." She quickly scooped up her basket and pulled Adam along behind her. Althoguh he knew the castle in the Anti-Realm very well, he had no idea the way that Snow White was taking him. He had explored all of the nooks and crannies - or so he thought - of the castle and always had an escape route whenever necessary. This small and secluded route was very different however. It was quite literally a hole in the wall and he could not help but wonder if he could find this passage later.

Much to his relief, once they were in the shadows the world had stopped spinning, but he still felt unnaturally warm and his stomach acid had finally stopped churning, Much to his surprise, however, Snow White had taken him to her secluded little garden. She had him sit under the shade of the apple trees and let him sit to cool while she finished her laundry in the small stream beside him. He watched her quietly and noticed how worn and weathered her small hands had been. It was more than likely because of all the chores she has had to do over the years that made them that way. Adam could not help but frown at that. She was a princess, not a commoner she deserved to have smooth and soft hands. Although her hands were so small the worked so hard.

"Are you feeling better?" She broke his train of thought, but did not take her eyes from her work.

"Yes." He crossed his arms and nodded. "Thank you." He pushed himself to a stand and was much relieved that he felt more sturdy under his own weight.

"Did something happen?" She finally looked at him.

"No." He looked away from her. "It was just a heat spell."

"Although that is a possibility." She stood and crossed her arms at him. "I don't think I believe that. I saw you walk out of the throne room. You either heard or saw something that you weren't supposed to or something that you did not like."

"Not necessarily." He frowned at her astuteness. "I went from a rather shady room to a sun filled one. The temperature difference messed with my sinuses a little."

Adam was mentally stabbing himself with his own sword at the sorry lied and excuses he was trying to procure for her. Some odd reason he did not want her to know about the prince coming to see her. He knew nothing of this prince or his character, but the old hag was plotting something; it wasn't going to end well. He had this overwhelming feeling of wanting to protect Snow White from the old hag and even keeping her to himself from that prince that would be part of the plot. Adam suddenly stopped and blinked and realized what he was just thinking. He suddenly looked down at Snow White and saw that her eyebrows were furrowed in worry.

"Are you all right?" She asked with her hand on his elbow, ready to make him sit if it were necessary.

"Fine." He stepped away from her and back into the shade. "However, I do think that I need to go. I don't want to be in this place right now. . ."

"Is it the tree?" She rushed and looked around her. "Is there a funny smell? Is it me?"

"What?" Adam blinked in confusion at her.

"Do you not like this place?" She wrung her hands together as she looked around her little oasis. "I know it isn't much and that it is out of the way, but I thought -"

"It is not your oasis, Snow White." He clarified quickly with a soft smile. "I was referring to the castle. I feel as though I have overstayed my welcome for the day and need to return to my own oasis."

"Don't you have a room here in the castle though?" He head tilted to the side.

"Yes, but I don't find it particularly welcoming." He snorted.

"Is it something about the room?" She fidgeted with her hands. "If so, I can see about arranging things so they are more suited to your tastes!"

"I just find the comfort of the little house in town a little more inviting than the castle." He raised an eyebrow at her nervousness. "The room itself is fine."

"Oh." Her shoulders and her head dropped. "I see. . ." She held her wrist tightly in front of her as though she had something else that she wanted to say, but was refraining from saying.

"Is everything all right with you?" He asked carefully and stooped to peer into her face. "You seem . . . Anxious."

"Well, I'm worried about you having another spell." She refused to look at him and seemed to have found something interesting in the grass to look at.

"Is there something that you want to tell me?" He made sure to stay a respectful distance from her. Her brown eyes looked up at him and those red lips quivered for only a moment, hesitating on saying anything before she bit her lip and shook her head.

"No." She shook her head and threw on a pretty smile on her face. Adam narrowed his eyes and studied her, trying to figure out if he should pry more or not, however she turned around to pick up her laundry as if to signal that that was the end of the conversation. She picked up her basket and rounded around Adam as if trying to run away. He suddenly reached out and caught her thin arm and held her in place. She didn't fight or try to snatch her arm back, but looked at him with wide eyes.

"Would it be possible to try having our lessons here from time to time?" He asked and held her in place.

"Here?" She blinked and looked around her oasis.

"Yes." He nodded his head. "I think that this place is secluded enough to where if we needed to continue your lessons while you need to do your chores it could be possible. That way you can have longer lessons."

"Oh." A small smile formed on her lips. "Yes, I would like that very much."

The ascent up the mountain only seemed to have grown more difficult after vomiting, but still he could not help but have a lighter step as he climbed. Their lessons could be extended and he could protect her from the old hag longer, even if only for a few moments. The Door Between Realms took him easily and in a matter of minutes he was already in the Anti-Realm. A chill wrapped its way around him and immediately choked the last bit of Apfel warmth from him as he stepped out of the Wardrobe. The cat lazed about on the bench and used its tail to scribble something on the page as he passed and Frederick was already waiting at the doors for him.

"Welcome back, Master Adam." He gave a wobblily bow in his greeting. "How were things in Apfel?"

"Fine, until some messenger spouted some nonsense about a prince." He hissed as he walked. "Things just got a little bit more complicated."

Frederick was surprisingly able to match Adam's fast pace and kept up very evenly with him as he took his long strides all the way to his quarters.

"Could you perhaps be talking of Prince Florian Ferdinand?" He asked as he cleared his throat.

"The very one." Adam grunted.

"Ah, then he must be out to start his quest." He mused.

"His what?"

"His quest." He repeated. "His kingdom has had an obnoxious tradition of sending the male heirs out to go find a wife."

"That's not too obnoxious." Adam's brow furrowed.

"No, only they go to the ones the messengers handpick for them to 'rescue' so to speak." He actually used his fingers to put air quotes around rescue.

"So you're telling me the thing is rigged?"

"Well, it wasn't always." He sighed and put his hands behind his back. "However, as time went on and maidens were put in more perilous and dangerous situations, the kings sent out the messengers to still find a maiden in distress, but not the most distressing of situations."

"Then what happens to those maidens that needed more saving than the others?" Adam stopped and turned to Frederick.

"Well, that's where you get your evil queens, Master Frederick." A sad smile rose on his face. "Those maidens who were actually strong enough or brave enough to actually free themselves carry heavy scars with them for the longest time. Sometimes those scars aren't that bad, whereas others are a literal poison killing the better parts of a person. . ."

"Not every maiden needs literal saving." Adam frowned. He could see the logic in Frederick's words, however, not everyone would just turn out to be like the Evil Queen.

"No, this is true." Frederick nodded his head. "But everyone needs at least one person to depend on. It does not matter how strong one may be or how strong they think they may be, there is always a limit. There is a limit to everything, and depending on which way a person is pushed, pulled, twisted, or bending can break a tiny wheel inside of them that keeps them going. . . I would know." Adam watched as the old man's shoulders tensed and he stood somewhat straighter. "I myself was not strong enough to prevent the things that happened to Grimhilde as well as to prevent her from going down such a dark path. Instead of being the person she could depend on, I became a pawn for her own gain."

Adam had nothing in which he could say to this sad wise old man. Very few people can actually admit their weaknesses, for in those few who can proves that they are strong and wise in their humility. He wanted to provide some comfort to him, yet comforting was far outside his literal physical abilities; he still was not used to the physical contact of another. Listening to Frederick's story only made things more difficult for Adam. Not only did he want to have his own Happy Ending as well as somehow save Snow White, but now he wanted to ensure Frederick got his own happy ending.

"If what you are saying is happening." Frederick continued so as not to dwell on regrets and mistakes, "then you are about to meet a pigheaded, lovesick fool who was able to sweep her off her feet because she had never been given proper attention."

"Lovesick fool?" He could not help but scowl in disgust. He crossed his arms as he looked to Frederick for more answers. "He becomes a lovesick fool with a person he hasn't met but once?"

"Hmm. . ." Frederick chuckled with a knowing grin. "You have to remember that Snow White was hand picked by the messenger. He is aware that there is some danger, but he is young ambitious and pigheaded because he thinks he is living in some sort of storybook. However, his meeting Snow White was not their first encounter."

"Explain." Adam carefully demanded as they stood outside the door to his room.

"When Snow White's father was still alive, he and King Ferdinand arranged a marriage between their children." Frederick supplied. "However, I do not remember if the agreement was annulled after the king's passing or if there was some sort of expectation of it continuing. Though, now that I think about it. . ." He rambled and put a hand to his chin. "If he sent the messenger, despite the obnoxious tradition, then it means that he is aware that the previous arrangement for engagement was annulled."

"How old is this prince?" His hands gripped his arms tighter at the question. For whatever odd reason he did not like the fact that a _prince_ was to come in and sweep her off her feet. A romantic lovesick fool who has no idea of the dangers he would have to face with a certain mother-in-law.

"Only nineteen, Master Adam." Frederick chuckled. "You have nothing to be concerned about, Master Adam. He is no match for a prince such as yourself."

"Prince?" He blinked at Frederick in confusion.

"But of course." He nodded his head. "Although it is rather complicated, you are a prince. A prince of darkness, but a prince nonetheless. You were created by the Evil Queen herself, and although it is a complicated situation, you are her offspring which means you are a prince. So Prince Florian Ferdinand will not be able to simply woo Snow White with singing."

"He sings to her?" His nose turned up. "And it works on her?"

"Well, in my story it did." He chuckled at the young man's disgust. "However, that does not guarantee that it will work for her in your story."

Adam looked to the floor as he contemplated this and considered his options and his actions. Regardless of how the story was supposed to go, how it was commonly known to go, how it was expected and pressed upon him to go, Snow White was to be his. No prince or Evil Queen would take her from him as of this point. If she did not want him then he would simply kill her. Whether to have her or to kill her it would be up to Adam because Snow White was his for the taking and nothing would prevent him from taking her; especially some prince.

"Shall you be dining in your room this evening, Master Adam?" Frederick cleared his throat as he changed the subject. "Or shall you be joining the others?"

"I would much prefer to dine in my own room this evening." He inhaled deeply and tried not to sigh. "I

don't think that I could handle dealing with them after dealing with the Queen this afternoon. . ."

"Did something happen?" Frederick raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, and no." Adam grunted as he looked at Frederick. "She hasn't actually done anything to me yet, but she most definitely foreshadowed that something will be happening soon. Whether it is tomorrow or a week from now, she has some sort of plan for me."

"And you have come to this knowledge, how?" Frederick asked slowly and carefully.

"I was eavesdropping on her conversation with the messenger." He frowned. "I was trying to wait until she left before leaving, but she just sat there and kept talking to herself. Something about a key and me helping her for something in the future."

"I must say, Master Adam." Frederick's bushy brows furrowed together as he frowned. "This is my first time hearing of this. Then again, since this is _your_ story, then I suppose it makes sense."

"What do you mean by that?" An eyebrow raised at the comment.

"Come now, Master Adam, it has been explained a few times by Mr. V." Frederick crossed his arms and actually looked cross with Adam. "Your missions, your choices, your going back through the stories is inserting yourself into that timeline and becoming a part of it. By trying to 'fix' things in the past, you are recreating it and writing your own story. So although I know of a lot of things that happened from _my_ story, it would appear as though there will be quite a few changes from my tale to accommodate yours."

"So what does this mean for me now?" Adam thought aloud.

"Its means, Master Adam," Frederick gave him a knowing look, those green eyes having more to tell than what he could actually tell. "That you have to be very careful who you decide to make friends with and that the choices you make will greatly affect your story."

"Wonderful. . ." He sighed and leaned back against the door. "As if things weren't complicated enough. . ."

"Don't worry, Master Adam." Frederick offered a smile and rested his hand on Adam's shoulder. "You will be just fine. I know it. Oh, please take care to be kind to me eventually when we meet." He chuckled. "I'm not always this nice as I am now. . .especially in my younger days."

"Will I know it is you?" Adam asked. He could not exactly picture a young Frederick. Not that it was impossible, just after seeing the wrinkles and gray hairs it was hard to imagine what he looked like as a young man.

"Possibly." He smirked and tapped the corner of his eye. "You'll either sense me, or you'll know me by the eyes. I'm the only one in Apfel that has them."

"I'll sense you?" His brow furrowed and ever so casually Frederick plucked off his glove and took Adam's off as well.

"We both have been touched by the Black Apple Poison." He showed his gnarled and weathered hand that had black and a rotting sweet smell crawling up his hands. "For someone such as yourself, I'm sure you will pick up on it almost immediately."

"But I thought you died by the poison?" Adam blinked.

"Yes, I did." Frederick nodded as he re-sheathed his hand in his glove. "However, I tested all of her poisons before she tried them on anyone else. I needed to build up an immunity so it would take her longer to kill me." He took a step back and placed his hands behind his back again. "Hopefully we will be able to make friends. . ."

"You sound doubtful of that." Adam noticed. Frederick merely responded with a chuckle and a sad smile.

"I'll be arriving with your dinner shortly, Master Adam." He put his hand on his chest and gave a half bow before suddenly disappearing. With that Adam turned and entered his bedroom, just in time before he could hear obnoxious laughter echoing from down the hall. Closing the door tight behind him Adam leaned against the door.

He was finally in the sanctuary of his room, even though he was in the Anti-Realm, he felt more at ease of finally being alone. He pushed himself off of the door and removed the leather gloves from his hands. He slipped out of his vest and unbuttoned his shirt and pants as he walked towards his bed. Feeling relief as he took off each article of clothing he made his way to the bathroom to take a nice long hot bath. It was just what he needed after a long nerve wracking day.

Stepping into the bathroom he immediately went to the tub and started a bath. With the bottles of different scents he picked up a random one and poured a generous amount in running water for bubbles. As he waited for the tub to fill his eyes drifted down towards his hands. Unlike Frederick, Adam's hands were still clear of the black poison that pumped through his veins. Perhaps it was because he had not used it on himself nowhere near as much as Frederick was forced to, but he found it odd that his skin was not as discolored as Frederick's. What he also found odd was the fact Frederick could actually touch him, he could actually touch his bare skin! Which now that he thought about it it made perfect sense since he did take up his laundry, his clothes, and could touch his clothes without dying of noxious fumes.

A quick sloshing of water caught his attention and he looked to the water. The tub was almost filled to the brim. He quickly turned the tap off and eased himself in the water so as not to splash any more water onto the floor. Fully emerged into the tub he rested his head on the edge of the tub and closed his eyes. He wanted to savor this moment of relaxing before the dreaded thoughts of contemplating on what the Evil Queen could possibly have in store for him would come rushing in.

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_**Queen Grimhilde**_

The day passed much more slowly than she truly realized and Queen Grimhilde found it torturously boring for the day to pass. After the meeting with the puffy messenger she began to formulate her plan, and as much as she wanted to run it by the Mirror to get a second opinion on it, she knew it would only foil her plans. Se had learned, much to her regret, that if the Mirror confirmed anything that he saw as a possible future, that future that he spoke of would completely disappear and would no longer be an option. That was a cruel lesson she learned in trying, and failing, to save her mother. . .

If this plan of getting rid of Snow White was to succeed, she was going to have to carefully plan and keep her plans to herself. Although she really wanted to kill Snow White, ridding her presence from Apfel would give her just as much peace as killing her, though she would feel much more satisfied in killing her. She already had Jack and Joe play with her so she was little to no value on the wedding market for pure brides, and although that had given her much satisfaction it was simply not enough. For some odd reason she enjoyed making that girl suffer. Despite the promise she had made to her late husband, who deserved a woman much better than what he got, she could not resist causing some sort of trauma to the girl. Ever since the child was young she had it so easy. She had a father and a father who treated her well and as a lady, though she did lose her mother with her father's love she did not seem to perturbed by not having a mother. She even welcome Grimhilde when she was to be her stepmother. The child was odd and had never truly known hardship because she was so sheltered. That alone made the Grimhilde.

On top of being loved and cherished by not only her father, but also the servants, she was extremely beautiful, even as a child. Flawless porcelain white skin, curly raven black hair, apple red lips, a crooked-less smile, a petite frame, and the epitome of kindness; yes this child was revered as perfect. Even after her father's death the servants still revered her and treated her well despite the warnings to not to. Though if Grimhilde were being more honest she had successfully done everything within her power to strip Snow White of her title as a princess. Although she could not touch her birthright, she could take everything else away from her. She could even find a way of disposing of this prince that suddenly seemed interested in her. She had taken away her father, her identity amongst the people, her royal status by making her work, her education which was quickly being readmitted to her, and even her virginity. Taking a prince away from her would be a simple fix. However, Adam was the wild card that swayed her decision in anything now.

Although the boy had promised loyalty to Queen Grimhilde, there was something that laid very deep underneath that told her his loyalty only went to far. Now that he is teaching Snow White how to read it was going to cause an array of problems for her. Though, if she truly wanted to test her loyalty, this prince may be just the proper tool to pit against Adam. A grin slowly spread into a smile on her face as her plot thickened.

Pushing herself to stand she glanced up at the stain glass windows and noticed that the sun finally decided to go away for the day. She left the throne room and made her way to the East wing. As she walked she felt a presence behind her. She suddenly stopped and kept her back to the presence behind her.

"Frederick, why are you following me?" She asked not even turning her head to see him. She knew it was him.

"You act as though you are not used to me following you, My Queen." He chuckled and stepped closer. At his approaching footsteps did she turn and see those dazzling emerald green eyes watching her. Her chestnut hair rested at the top of his brow and rested in a low ponytail on the back of his neck. He stood a whole head taller than her and actually required her to look up at him for her to look him in the eye. A smirk played on his face, "I have followed you, at your request, from our home country to this small corner of the world."

"You know what I meant." A soft smile played about her lips.

"You were in your throne room for quite a while." He stayed perfectly still as his smirk fell. "I was worried that something happened."

"Nothing happened." She waved the thought away. "I was just in deep thought."

"What, may I ask, were you thinking so deeply about?" He slowly took another step towards her.

"I just have another plan," She smiled coyly at him. "This one will require much less blood, but absolute loyalty for."

"What for?"

"To finally get rid of Snow White, of course." She slid her hands into the sleeves of her robes.

"My Queen, I thought you made a promise -" He began to argue, but she held up her hand and immediately silenced him.

"I require loyalty, not blood, Frederick." She repeated, much less playfully this time. "There is a prince who is supposed to be visiting Apfel in a few weeks. He may be just the tool that I need to finally get rid of Snow White."

"You would readmit her to the public?" He blinked at her. It had been nearly twelve years since Snow White was revered as a princess by actual title. Although the people of Apfel were aware of her title and role in society they not exactly respect her for that and treated her as though she were like them.

"Momentarily." Her nose turned up at the thought. "I by no means plan to share my throne with that brat. I will only do it so long as I can get rid of her. Marrying her off to this idiotic prince may be just what I need. . ."

"You no longer wish to kill her?" He raised a brow in disbelief at her. "After all these years of you having me watch her, now you want to get rid of her so easily?"

"You sound as though you don't believe me, Freddy," She chuckled and pressed a hand mockingly over her chest.

"I don't think I can." He shook his head. "You appear to have something else that you're plotting that you just don't want to tell me about."

"I forget that you're very perceptive." She slid her hand back into her robes.

"It has to do with the boy, doesn't it?" He crossed his arms and put his weight on his right foot. She did not say anything, but her smile slowly shrunk back to a small grin. "Hilde, what is it that you want with this boy?"

She bristled at being called Hilde. Although Frederick was her childhood friend and partner as needs arose, it still was still odd for her to hear the name after being referred to as "My Queen," "Your Highness," "Your Majesty," and the like titles that went with her royal status. Being referred to her old nickname, though endearing, was far from professional.

"I want that boy to uphold his promise to me." She spoke in a low growl as she glared at him. "He promised his loyalty to me as well as to personally kill Snow White, but he has yet to do so!"

"Unlike you who has access to a vast collections of potions and poisons to kill whoever you like whenever you like, it takes a little more tact and time in killing someone who is constantly in the eye of the people." He frowned at her. "I do know that you are impatient, but if getting rid of Snow White is what you wish to do, perhaps marrying her off to this prince would be better. He could be a complete ass and treat her terribly."

"She is not so as unlucky as I for that to work in my favor." She frowned and untucked her hands from her robe sleeves to cross her arms. "She is in fact far too lucky to have survived this long on her own that it makes my blood boil."

"You could always try to make amends and raise her to be a proper princess." He casually suggested, but with the intense glare she shot him, he knew that would not happen. "Not for her to take your place, but at least to properly prepare her for when this prince arrives. You could start by at least teaching her to read so that she is somewhat literate. Though, I suppose that has already been put into effect with this boy teaching her."

"So you have been watching him?" She asked and raised her eyebrow at him.

"Of course, you requested that I do so," He nodded. "He seems relatively harmless. . .but I would not underestimate him."

"And what makes you say that?" She frowned.

"He killed both Jack and Joe." He said flatly.

"So?" Her brow furrowed. "Those two were useless to me anyways after the succeeded in tainting Snow White."

"You don't understand, Hilde." She bristled again, but squeezed her arm to remain composed. "He killed them with one hand. AS soon as he ungloved his hand all he had to do was touch them and they turned to ash."

"To ash?" She blinked in disbelief. She had already been burned once by the little exposed flesh that she had touched, but turning those idiots into ashes. . .It was impossible! "This cannot be. There are very few in this world that are that powerful!"

"But he did." He nodded his head. "I saw it with my own eyes. It was as if some sort of demon had taken over his body. . .the amount of bloodlust that was in his eyes as he killed them . . ." He physically shivered. "I would not test him too much, Hilde. I say that for your own sake if you want any plan of yours to succeed."

She had to look away from him as she contemplated her newest plot. Perhaps it would be best if she did not test the boy's loyalty. . . No. She must. She must do it otherwise he cannot be trusted.

"Hilde." Frederick suddenly stood very close to her. "Please, I'm begging you. Please do not test him too hard."

"That is no way to speak to me as your queen, Frederick." She hissed as she looked up at him.

"I am not speaking to you this way as your subject, Hilde." His eyes were pleading and his voice earnest. "I am speaking to you as your friend who cares deeply about you. I implore you to reconsider your actions before you make a wrong turn and go down a path that I can't save you from."

For a moment, a mere moment, her heart caused her to waiver, but her mind would not allow it. She already had a plan made and a path she had already decided to take.

"I have not asked you to save me." She said standing straighter, taller. "Should the time ever come, I shall call for you, but that day is not today. I have already made up my mind and I intend to go through with it!"

"I had a feeling you would say that." He sighed and he too took a step back. "I shall continue to watch over the boy as you requested. Please feel free to call on me any time. . . Hilde."

He bowed and before Queen Grimhilde could snap at him to quit calling her that, he had already disappeared. For a moment she looked around confused by his sudden disappearance, but shook her head as she set out on her original route to Snow White. It should not have come to a surprise that he had developed new abilities since their arrival in Apfel, he made his own deal with the Mirror. Still it did unnerve her how he could come and go as he pleased, but also filled her with a strange peace of mind that he would come at her beck and call. If only he realized that she was not worthy of his services now his affections that he carefully tried to hide from her. He always wanted to save her from the path that she chose, yet she already knew she was too far gone.

Stuck in deep thought, she stopped abruptly when she found herself in front of Snow White's room. She stood hesitating about what to do and even what to say. As she hesitated outside the door her eyes felt hot, as though tears threatened to trek down her face; she refused to allow it. Gritting her teeth to ground her resolve she knocked on the door, perhaps a little louder than she meant to. She did not hear anything on the other side, no stirring of papers, no creaking of beds, not soft footsteps. She readied her hand to knock even louder when Snow White's face suddenly appeared before her with her door open.

"Your Majesty?" She blinked in utter surprise.

"Hello, Snow White." She feigned a smile and tried to hide the malicious intentions that were slowly building up within her. "May I come in?"

"Y-Yes." She stammered as she stepped back and held the door more open for her. She strode into the room and much to her surprise found that the place was entirely spotless. No dust, no cobwebs, no spiders, no mice; it both amused her and annoyed her that the room was so tidy. Despite the tidiness of the room there were evident signs of slow damage in the bed sheets that covered the small child-sized bed and low burned candles that were in almost every corner of the room.

"My, my, I'm surprised by this." She feigned her voice a higher octave. "It is so clean, and so well kept!"

"T-Thank you, Your Majesty." She stammered as she closed the door. "I do what I can."

"Please, dear." She tutted and held her arms out. "Don't refer to me as 'Your Majesty' I am your mother! Come here child."

Snow White stood with her eyes wide and nervously gripping the edges of her ratty and tattered skirt. The Queen held the smile to hold up her patience as Snow White ever so timidly walked over to her. She awkwardly stepped into the embrace and allowed the Queen to feel how boney she had become from the lack of nutritious meals.

"My child, you are so thin." She held her round face in her hands and had to resist the urge of popping it like a grape. "We must fix this immediately!"

"I-I eat plenty." Snow White carefully took a step back and watched the Queen very carefully. "If I eat too much I get sick."

"well, you are far too skinny." She shook her head. "You will never catch the eye of a prince looking like that!"

"Prince?" She blinked in pure shock at her step mother.

"Yes, yes." She waved to dismiss the question. "Prince Florian Ferdinand, from Franca is coming to visit Apfel for the annual Spring Festival! He has been _very_ interested in meeting you. You wouldn't want to be all skin and bones for when he arrives, now do you?"

"N-No ma'am-m." She shook her head, but still looked frightfully confused.

"Good." She patted the girl's cheek ever so slowly so as not to slap her. "We shall have to make sure that you are properly fed and that your lessons begin properly."

"Lessons?" She sucked in a breath and looked guilty. She looked as though she had just been caught doing something she knew she was not supposed to. And in all actuality she already had, but Adam refused to explain to Grimhilde as to why her learning to read was necessary.

"But of course." She smiled now at the girl. "Princesses hold more value when they are literate. You are to pick up your lessons with Adam first thing in the morning."

Snow White looked as though she had swallowed a grape and was ready to choke on it. If she knew it was this easy to frighten the girl she would have down this ages ago if it meant putting her into an early grave!

"A-Adam?" She gulped. "you m-mean your nephew?"

"Yes," She smiled and tried not to snap at the naivety of the girl. She knew she was illiterate, but she had not realized that she was this slow. "He was the one that came to me with the idea of teaching you."

"He did?" He brow furrowed as she blinked, yet again, in confusion at her.

"But of course, my dear." She chuckled darkly. "Do you think he would actually be teaching you without my permission? He is just as aware as you are of my punishments and the casualties that follow for disobeying me."

"B-But why?" She balled the material of her skirts into her hands. "But why are you allowing him to teach me? After so long. . .why?"

"My dear." She tried to be sweet, but the sweetness she wanted to feign was beginning to rot, and she knew it. "I know I have not been the best of mothers, I know that I have even been the worst of mothers. But you see, with Adam being here after my sister died and him ever so evident on making sure that you are treated right, the conscience that I thought that died with your father has grown back up from the roots." She held her hands and gave Snow White's boney hands a squeeze. "I know I haven't been fair to you, nor have I been good to you, but I want to change. I'm tired of being angry all the time, I'm tired of having to be so strict, and I'm so tired of being lonely. . . After your father passed. . ."

She glanced at Snow White to see how much she actually believed her words, and much to her enjoyment she was eating up every word. The mere mention of wanting to change and her father seemed to be the right direction to pull her little tender heartstrings the way she wanted.

"I know that I have lashed out at you and have pushed you away for so long, but that was because I was lonely and angry and felt completely beside myself with his passing." She carefully caressed Snow White's cheek. "You look so much like your father. . . I just couldn't bear to look at you without thinking of him and had to push you away, for my own sake. I'm so sorry, Snow White. Can you ever forgive me?"

Snow White stared up at her, wide eyed and tears brimming. Her small mouth rolled into a smile and nodded her head. Before the Queen could react, though, she threw her arms around her neck and gave her a hug. In shock she almost clawed the girl, but ever so carefully relaxed her hands and patted her lightly on the back.

"Of course I'll forgive you, mother." Snow White sniffled as she pulled away, eyes brimming with tears and a gloriously white smile beaming back at her. "I can't tell you how long I've waited to hear those words."

She was thankful for the fact that Snow White went in for another hug because she could not hide the look of disgust that came over her face. She patted Snow White's back until she finally released her and carefully held he rout at arms length.

"Now that we have that out of the way." She tried to keep the smile on her face. "What do your dresses look like?"

"Dresses?" She blinked in confusion. "I don't have very many. . ."

"What do you mean?" She already assumed that she did not have much, but she at least needed enough dresses with a few to spare to last her at least a week to woo the prince to lure him into an engagement.

Snow White merely stepped away from the queen, walked over to a small wardrobe and opened them up. The dresses that hung on the rack were dresses for a child, a very small child. Although Snow White was as thin and small as a child these would never do. Queen Grimhilde had to bite her tongue to prevent herself form asking why she had this pitiful selection of a wardrobe when she already knew the answer.

"Right." She inhaled and slapped another smile on her face as she turned to Snow White. "Then tomorrow we will have to go into town and get you a new wardrobe. How are your nightgowns and undergarments?"

"About the same as these. . ." Her face flushed red and she looked down as she twisted her fingers. "I have had to make my own. . .They are nothing pretty, but they work since I have to do so much work."

"Well, tomorrow after breakfast we will go into town and get you fitted for gowns, dresses, and undergarments." She made it final by saying that. "The sooner we get into town to get this all arranged the better."

"O-Okay." Snow White closed the wardrobe.

"You can just throw those old things away." She waved her hand at the wardrobe. "Since you cannot fit them there is no point in you keeping them."

"T-That won't be necessary." Snow White stood in front of her wardrobe defensively. "I'll just put these away in a storage chest."

"Why do you want to hold on to them, exactly?" She raised a long thin eyebrow at her.

"These are the last few things that I have left that my father gave me." She looked ready to cry as she held her arms out behind her over the doors of the wardrobe.

"Oh," Her smile was strained and she wanted to roll her eyes, but somehow managed to not. "Well then, you must certainly store them in a safe place. But you are in a desperate need of new clothes."

"Y-Yes." Snow White smiled and slightly bowed. "Thank you, mother. I hope you have a good night."

"Good night." Queen Grimhilde faked one more smile before exiting the room. As soon as the door shut behind her and a small snarl escape her. She literally has Snow White within her grasp and could have killed her at any point in time. She lured her into the false sense of security that she wanted to make amends! Perhaps this was what Frederick meant when he said there was a tact into killing.

"Well, at least the ball is rolling." She smiled to herself as she made her way to her own room. Yes if this went according to plan, this was going to be a delicious victory, and she may just kill two or three birds with one stone.

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_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it!_

_I know this was a longer chapter, but I felt as though I needed to make up for the lack of content that I have put forth with this story. Hopefully you will enjoy this. Please give me a review to tell me what you think of this so far! It'll help me decide if the story is going in the right direction._

_Thanks so much for coming along the journey, stay tuned for more!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

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Chapter Seventeen

_February 24_

_Field Mission Sixteen:_

_After a week's worth of lessons Snow White could properly read short sentences with three to four letter words. She still has some issues in pronouncing words, but her reciting and spelling has improved tremendously. _

_After being here for sixteen days the mission for what to do with Snow White has changed to the point that I must simply sit and observe to properly decide what it is that I would like to do with her. Killing her was the original goal, but despite the hundreds of ways that I have tried to exploit her for being a bigger villain than the old hag herself, the more she has proven that she truly is innocent. This of course leaves me in quite the bind since her death would be unnecessary and for some terribly odd reason plagues me with aching chest pains._

_For now I must continue to watch her, take notes of her actions, as well as continue to teach her to read._

_Goals:_

_Get Snow White to read 5-7 letter words._

_Work on her penmanship and spelling in her writing._

_Discover what the Evil Queen's intentions are with this 'key' that she spoke of._

He gently set the quill in his field journal and quietly snapped the book closed. Adam sat with his back propped up on the apple tree while Snow White was spouting off her spelling words and doing her laundry. She only stumbled on a few words but managed to pull through. At this rate he could begin working on a few sonnets and poems with her. . .No, better save those for when she can read longer sentences. She has greatly improved though in the last week. She was seriously practicing and it was seriously showing.

The Queen has been relatively quiet since the audience with the messenger, but Adam was aware that she was brewing up something and left him with constant unease. He had also noticed that Snow White's frame and clothing has greatly improved since the audience with the messenger. She still wears her scullery maid attire when washing clothes and working outside, but whenever they were at leisure she wore simple, yet finer clothes. She was even wearing shoes other than her clogs! Not only has her wardrobe changed, but the girl was actually putting on some weight. She wasn't just bone anymore, but she had a little bit of meat that was finally building to properly ground her to the Earth when gravity failed to.

"Is something the matter, Adam?" Snow White had her hands on her knees as she bent to peer into his face. He quickly averted his gaze as she stood far too close to him than what was absolutely necessary.

"Everything is fine." He cleared his throat before returning her gaze.

"Oh." Those doe brown eyes blinked in confusion at him. "I thought you wanted to ask me something. . ."

"Why would you be under that impression?" He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Well, I caught you staring. Again." She smiled shyly. "You have a tendency to do that. It as though you want to ask me something, but decide against it."

"I just don't think that it would be very proper for me to ask my questions. . ." He suddenly felt hot and averted his gaze yet again.

"Surely you would not ask me something perverse." She teased gently.

"Absolutely not!" His whipped around. "I would never ask such a thing of a lady such as yourself."

A laugh like a melody of doves escaped form her and she used her little hand to cover her mouth. "You worry too much, Adam. Come now, surely we have been friends long enough that you can ask me a question."

"As you wish. . ." He sighed. "I have noticed that your wardrobe has recently . . .changed. I simply wanted to know how, when, and why it has changed. . ."

"That is what you wished to ask?" Another fit of laughter came from her and he could not help but flush more.

"Yes. . ." He crossed his arms and his boots.

"Well, if you must no." She giggled as she scooped her skirts under her and sat beside her. "They were a gift from my step mother. I recently got them this week and have had to practice wearing them and getting them fitted to my body."

"A gift from the Queen?" He scoffed.

"Yes." she nodded and spoke earnestly. "She came to me the other night asking for forgiveness and to start a new relationship."

Adam could not believe what he was hearing. The Queen would _never_ have renewed her relationship with Snow White and unless the Underworld froze over, there was no way in hell she would _ever_ apologize to Snow White. . . .She was up to something.

"That sounds very unusual of her." Adam commented carefully.

"I would have to agree." She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know she still doesn't like me. Probably even hates me still, but I just can't help but hope that perhaps she changed. . ."

"As much as I would like to encourage your hope, I don't think things are as they seem." He frowned. "I have known her for a long time and I have _never_ known her to have ever apologized to anyone for anything. That strikes me as a red flag."

"Must you be so pessimistic?" She swatted at his arm.

"Yes." He glanced down at her. "For the entirety of my life I have never had a sunny disposition nor anything to be optimistic about. . .The world is a dark place for me where I come from. . ."

Her hand suddenly grasped his arm and gave a firm squeeze. "I hope that while you're here in Apfel that you will be able to discover something that makes you happy."

He looked into her face and those doe brown eyes were so earnest, so sincere. He could not help but allow a small smile to be on his face. She was the only one who has deserved to see his smile, even if it was a small one.

"Thank you, Snow White." His hand went to her temple and tucked a curl away behind her ear. A deep pink started from her nose and spread across her cheeks.

"I-I-I-Is-s-s-s there another b-b-b-ook for me?" She cleared her throat and withdrew herself from him. Although he sat in the sun he suddenly felt cold and wanted her to return to his side. He almost reached out to her when she was quickly beside him again with her learning blue book primer.

"Another book?" He raised his brow at her. "Are you telling me that you have finished that blue book?"

"Well, not yet." She shook her head and twisted her fingers. "But I would like an actual book to try to read to challenge my reading."

"Are you sure?" He liked the idea, however, he did not want her to get discouraged in reading and find herself later quitting.

"I want to get better at reading as quickly as I can." She held the book to her chest.

"May I know why?"

Her bottom lip rolled into her mouth and she shook her head. "You would think less of me."

"Snow White." He leaned down to her eye level and those doe brown eyes looked back at him. "I would never think less of you."

"Even if it was because I wanted to impress someone?" She blinked and those lashes batted away tears. "Because I have been told that a certain someone doesn't like stupid and illiterate girls."

He felt his face burn and his eyes widen. He turned his gaze away from he and began coughing. His heart hammered in his chest like a woodpecker on a tree and it echoed in his ears. "I never said that. . ." He mumbled now avoiding her gaze as he felt uncomfortable.

It was a fact that he most definitely had a preference to girls with an education or at least a brain that didn't rattle in their skulls, he would have never said anything about this to Snow White. Although she was slightly illiterate, he never once considered her stupid. Never. She had proven time and time again with her thinking, reasoning, and logic on how to solve most of her problems with the exception of her looming stepmother.

"You didn't." She heaved a sigh and wiped at her eye. "But stepmother did. She said that the prince coming to see me wouldn't like illiterate princesses."

"She what?" The hammering stopped instantly and the heat left him with the chilling shell of cold realization that Snow White was not trying to impress him.

"I'm sorry. . ." She blubbered and stared at her twisting fingers. "I-I-I."

To keep her from blubbering or crying anymore Adam handed her the handkerchief and reached his arm around her and pulled her into an embrace. She froze instantly, but did not shy away.

"A-Adam." She shivered. "This is most indecent -"

"You can tell me how indecent this is after your face is no longer red from tears." He pressed her head in his chest to hide both of their face from each other. She did not resist and almost seemed to melt into him as her small hand found his breast pocket and held him closely to her as well. Adam rested his chin on the hand that was on top of Snow White's head to keep her from touching his exposed skin as well as to keep her from seeing the jealous and wrathful face eh was making.

His eyes, already black, only seemed to grow darker at the thought of this prince actually trying to take Snow White from him. The thought of it made him murderous, almost as murderous as what he wanted to do to the old hag for being the one who planned this all. Although he was already aware of and had listened in to the private meeting Queen Grimhilde had had with the puffy messenger, She had put this plan into motion and this idea into Snow White's head that this prince was going to be the one to save her. Adam would not allow it. Only he was able to take Snow White.

"Adam, you are squishing me." She pushed off of him slightly, but kept her head buried in his chest.

"I apologize." He had not realized how much his grip had tightened and loosened his hold, but did not remove his arms from around her.

"I do believe that this is the first time that you have done this with me." She giggled quietly to herself as she dabbed the handkerchief to her eyes.

"I always do my best to treat you as the lady and princess you are." He answered and pet the mane of curls his hand rested upon. "However, you looked as though you needed a small place to hide in."

"You are by no means small, Adam." She giggled again and moved herself away from him to look at him. She had a genuine smile on her face even though her eyes were still puffy. Adam's hand went from behind her head to hold her cheek in his gloved hand and he could not help but smile at her in return.

"You look much better with a smile, Snow White." He spoke softly as he rubbed his thumb under her eye to get rid of yet another tear. She watched him quietly with those doe brown eyes and a soft blush spread across her cheeks. Those red lips that he ever so wanted to taste rolled inward and she turned her head.

"Although I needed the momentary comfort." She cleared her throat and shied away from him. "This is still rather an indecent position we are sitting in. . ."

He had not realized that he had pulled her onto his lap when he had pulled her into his arms that were still wrapped around her. He did not want her to move. He did not want to move his arms. He removed his arms from her slowly and she in turn slowly moved back to her seat beside him. His hand rested behind him as he propped himself up by his arms and he was ever so aware of her hand that was barely a few centimeters from his own. He resisted the urge of taking her hand into his own and balled that hand into a fist to prevent him from doing so.

Without another word Snow White stood up from her spot and returned to her duties at laundry. While she continued to work she would hum a happy little tune and would whistle at a few spots. Adam on the other hand propped himself up on the tree and crossed his arms as he thought of what book to recommend to her.

"Is there anything in particular that you would like to read?" He asked suddenly and startled her after the stretch of silence.

"I was hoping that you would have something that you could recommend." She kept her eyes focused on the laundry before her.

"I have plenty of things that I could recommend." He could not help himself from looking at her. "But that does not mean that you would be interested in any of them."

"Oh. . ." She stopped her folding and kept her blanket in her arms as she stared at the laundry line. "Anything with a happy ending would be nice."

"Somehow I'm not surprised." He smirked.

"If I really want to stay with something that is a little closer to reality then I will refrain from picking up books and just look around this kingdom and see all those who struggle during my stepmother's reign." She spoke quietly. "Although she has done her best to keep me in the dark, I am not blind to what she has done. Too many staff people have conveniently gone missing, too many homes have been vacated. She may have tried to take away my legitimacy to the throne, taken away my literacy, but she failed to take away my sight." She looked to Adam and for the first time she actually looked angry. Not just angry though, there was so much sadness in her voice, defiance in her eyes, and disdain in her posture.

"She has taken away many things in my life, but she was not able to take away my sight. Though I have not been publicly known for a few years I am aware of the decisions she has made to cause enough damage to Apfel."

In her state of awareness and anger Adam could for a fraction of a moment see why the Queen was so adamant about getting rid of Snow White. Although the Evil Queen was a woman who was known as terrifying and a woman to be feared, there was a quiet strength that Snow White possessed that made her look more regal and that of a queen that the Evil Queen Grimhilde herself.

Adam could not help but feel drawn to this quiet power that she possessed.

"You truly are a woman that deserves the title of being the 'Fairest of them All'." He murmured as he stood to help her carry the basket.

"Did you say something?" He face relaxed and went smooth as she looked to him finally.

"I will do my best to find you a story that has a happy ending." He chuckled and picked up her laundry basket. "Is there anything else that you would like to be in a story?"

"Romance of course." She gushed as she walked beside him. "Every good story with a happy ending always has a little bit of romance."

"Ah, but even though the story may have a happy ending the romance could end terribly." He countered as they entered the castle.

"If that is the case then that is only a good story, not a happy one." She put her finger to her chin thoughtfully.

"So not just a happy ending, but a happy story?" He smirked down at her.

"Yes, and don't forget romantic." She quipped with a laugh.

"That too. . ." He sighed. "Well, that poses quite the challenge."

"I know that whatever you choose it will be good." She beamed up at him and that woodpecker hammered in his chest again. He really liked her smile, more than he probably should.

"You'll need to give me a day or so to find you something that properly fits that description." He thought out loud. "In the mean time, I do have another book for you to start reading."

"Really?" She gasped and clapped her hands together.

"Yes, I'll give it to you once we take these to the laundry room." She quietly squealed and rushed up ahead of him and opened the door for him and followed him giddily to the laundry room. He set the basket of clean laundry on the countertop and reached for the small book in his inside breast pocket. He was ever so thankful for the pockets on the inside of his coat because it made containing surprises so much easier for her.

"This is something I thought would be a good starter book for you to practice with." He handed her the book and she ever so happily received it from him. "Once you can read the book to me without any mistakes I'll give you the other book that you're really wanting to read."

"Wait, you mean that you will find it and keep it from me?" She pouted slightly as she held the book to her chest.

"So that way you do not get discouraged in your reading." He placed his hand on the top of her head and petted the mane of curls. "As well as to motivate you to keep reading."

She gave him another smile before looking down at the cover of the book. Her brow furrowed and her mouth moved softly as she quietly tried to say the words to herself.

"Re." She frowned that she got the pronunciation wrong on the first try. "Re-ed."

She glanced up to Adam who nodded his head in encouragement.

"Red. Redding -"

"Long 'I'," he corrected gently.

"Red Ri-iding." She glanced up at him and received another nod of encouragement. "Red Riding Hood."

"You got the last one pretty easy." He smiled proudly at her.

"Red riding hood. . ." She pressed the book over her mouth. "I've heard this story before."

"But have you read it?" He raised his eyebrow teasingly at her. She shook her head. "Good. Read this over tonight, practice it, and when you're feeling ready I want you to read it to me."

"Read it?" She blinked at him as blush crossed his face. "To you?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"B-B-But my reading isn't that g-g-g-ood yet!" She stammered and tried to hide behind the book.

"Which is why you need to read aloud. Reading out loud helps to improve your reading." He tapped his temple. "So get to practicing and I will see you tomorrow."

"Such a strict teacher." She sighed with a playful smile. "Thank you, Adam."

"It is no problem at all." He provided her with a smile. "However, I must say goodbye today because I have a few things to attend to in town."

"I could always go with you!" She said quickly. "Unless you don't want me to. . ."

"It isn't that I don't want you to." He gave her a soft smile. "It is just that there are some things that a man likes to keep secret until the right moment."

"Does it have to do with my new book?" she had a coy smile on her face as she tried to do a little digging.

"I am a very good secret keeper." He chuckled and petted her head again. "I will see you tomorrow, Snow White."

"Goodbye, Adam." She heaved a sigh and shyly waved at him.

Before he could change his mind or allowed himself to be swayed by her, he quickly left the laundry room and exited the castle. Although many of the staff was aware of his presence and who he was Adam still preferred to stick to the shadows as he came and went from the castle. Partially to stay out of the way of those carrying big boxes and packages and partially to stay out of the line of sight of the Queen and the mirrors. The Queen had many mirrors added to the architecture of the land, to the statues that decorated the gardens, and even in the bottoms of the fountains in the mosaics. She had cleverly managed a way of deciding who her victims were and who her next targets would be.

Once he was out of the courtyard and made it out the front gates he slipped back into the sun in the streets of town. Most of the townspeople had gotten used to his presence here in Apfel and even waved at him from time to time, but there were still plenty of suspicious glares that followed as well. Once word had gotten out that he was the Queen's 'nephew' some people, the ladies in particular, were eager to greet him where as others, the men in particular, wanted nothing more than to challenge him or find a way to pin the blame of missing family members on to him. It almost made him want to walk back in the shadows, however since he has yet to actually cause the disappearance to any of the villagers.

While he was in town before he returned back to the Anti-Realm he wanted to get a few things for his house and also wanted to get something for Frederick. Frederick seemed to enjoy hearing about the events that happened in Apfel and Adam was sure that receiving a treat of sorts. Perhaps he would see if there were any tarts left in the bakery, even if they were the scraps of the day it would still be something that tastes delicious. Lost in his thoughts he was not paying attention to the growing crowds and bumped hard into someone that he faltered a few steps back.

"Ah, sorry about that friend." A tall man, about the same age as Adam, with dark brown hair and distinct green eyes stood in front of Adam. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Too busy with my errands."

Adam could not speak. He was too stunned. Before him stood the young Frederick. He looked ordinary, nothing fearsome or troublesome about him. He wore a earth colored pants that were tucked into long black boots that went up to his knees. He wore a simple white collared shirt with a brown leather vest and matching brown leather gloves. He had a long rifle strapped to his back with a belt that had extra pockets and pelts that rested just above a knife that was strapped to his thigh. Adam had to blink because it was the exact same attire that the older Frederick had lent him.

"Ya doin' all right friend?" Frederick asked as he looked up into Adam's face.

"I'm sorry." He cleared his throat and looked Frederick in the eye. "You just looked like someone I know, and someone who I had yet to anticipate being here in Apfel. What did you say your name was?"

"Funny." He chuckled oddly not breaking eye contact. "I think that I could say the same about you." He held his hand out to Adam. "The name's Frederick. Most people get away with calling me Fred. Just don't call me Freddy or Rick and we won't have any issues."

"Adam." He returned the handshake.

"Don't think we've met before." He smiled oddly and tilted his head. "Are you new in town?"

"So to speak." Adam gave a half shrug. "I'm here in town visiting my aunt."

"Your aunt, huh?" There was a weird look on his face though he had a smile on his face. "What's her name? I might know her."

"My Aunt is Queen Grimhilde."

"Ya don't say." He had a weird smile as he crossed his arms under his armpits. "Here I thought that was a rumor."

"Well, now you see the myth is not just a rumor." Adam stood a little straighter, almost in the defensive.

"Fascinating." He chuckled. "Any chance you need any pelts or furs?" He threw his thumb over his shoulder to show the cart he was pulling full of furs.

"You're a hunter, I see." He commented as he looked at the furs.

"Yup." He smiled proudly. "I go hunting just about every other day. Provide most of the furs people need to survive the winters. I have everything from as small as a chipmunk to as big as the mountain black bears."

"There are black bears in the mountains?" Adam mused amused.

"Yeah. They mostly keep to themselves, but whenever they come down the mountains they can be quite a hassle. I act as more of a pest control of sorts."

"Interesting." Adam's eyes skimmed over the furs. Sure enough the man had everything from chipmunks, beavers, skunks, deer, to cougars and bears. "Do you collect bird feathers?"

"Nah, too many possibilities of catching bird flu." He shook his head. "But I do bring in the game birds as necessary when the seasons are right. Do you want a particular bird?"

"No, not really." He shook his head. "Just asking for future reference."

"All right then?" He arched an eyebrow at him. "Then I guess I'll be on my way then."

"Actually, before you go, I do have one question for you." Adam thought quickly.

"What's that then?"

"What would you recommend as a good sweet from Apfel?"

"A good sweet?" he snorted in disbelief. "What, like a tart or something?"

"Yeah, what would you recommend?"

"Most people go for the tarts." He gave a shrug as he bent over to grab the handles to his cart. "Personally I prefer the apple crumble muffins. They don't sell out near as quick as the tarts and pies, but they taste the best to me."

"Thank you." Adam made the mental note. "I'll have to pick some up then."

"See you around, friend." He smiled brightly before carrying his cart and carting his way down the street.

Adam stood and watched him blend in with the rest of the crowd. For whatever reason with the warning that the older Frederick was giving him Adam assumed that the young Frederick would be much more intimidating. The young Frederick seemed honest, trustworthy, and just like a huntsman. Though, taking in to account by the amount the guy was smiling and how he almost didn't blink there was something definitely off about the guy. There was something oddly familiar about him too, not just because he was Frederick's younger self, but his presence or his essence, there was something about him that Adam could not help but recall as familiar; but what was it?

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_Author's Note_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you've been enjoying it so far!_

_So sorry for the belated update. Things have been rather stressful in my life with the whole Corona virus situation on top of doing some house construction for a house that I and my future husband will be moving into. Thank you for being patient with me during this time._

_Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

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Chapter Eighteen

After the odd little run in with the young Frederick Adam was able to get the leftover bread loafs and two apple crumble muffins before returning to the Anti-Realm. As he walked through the Wardrobe, the black cat Varuo was nowhere to be seen. "Odd." He mused as he proceeded to enter further into the castle.

"Don't worry, I'm still here." Varuo hissed as he used his tail to write down the time of Adam's arrival.

"Good to know." Adam waved over his head and continued down the hall. He was surprised to see that Frederick had not met up with him. He almost always greeted him on his way back.

"Frederick is in his room." Varuo called and made Adam stop in his tracks.

"What?"

"Frederick is laid up in his room." Varuo stretched as his tail flicked behind him.

"Is he all right?" Adam asked as genuine concern began to grow in him.

"Something about having a headache most of the day." He yawned. "Talk to Mr. V. He will more than likely have more information for you. Other than a bad wave of headaches the man is fine."

"Where is his room?"

"Well, if you follow me I'll take you to him." Adam looked over his shoulder and saw that Mr. V was there. "I was waiting up for you."

"Is he all right?"

"Yeah," Mr. V flicked his head to the door for Adam to follow and walked through the threshold. "He's just having the repercussions of you writing your own story."

"What, dare I ask, are you talking about?" He rolled his eyes with a huff.

"You're going back through the tale of _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_ and rewriting it for _your _ story."

"My story?" He shook his head. "My story? How am I writing my story? I'm just going through my missions! I'm doing what _you_ have assigned for me to do!"

"Ooohhh looks like someone gets anxious under pressure." Mr. V chuckled ignoring the questions. "As you and the Evil Queen signed in the contact - I just had to recently explain this to her the other day - things that you once knew are going to change. The Evil Queen's memory is changing which means that old man Frederick is going to experience the same things."

"What do you mean?"

"Frederick was the hunter." He waved his hand as if it was the most obvious thing was. "His memories and even his life experience are going to be changing. Especially if you have run into him. Which with the way he came down with a migraine today I'd take a gander of a guess and say that you did."

"Literally on my way back. . ."

"Don't worry about it." Mr. V waved him off. "It was bound to happen."

"Your lack of concern is rather unnerving." Adam growled as his hand balled up into a fist.

"I have plenty of concern about this, Adam." Mr. V stopped and held his cane out to prevent Adam from walking any further. "This whole thing is just as new for me as it is for you. You aren't the only one that has to deal with the repercussions of all this. Now before you spout anymore nonsense, go in and check on Frederick." He gestured to the solid brown door that stood on the right wall. "Just try to be quiet and not raise his blood pressure too much, all right?"

Adam glared in response before walking past Mr. V and entered Frederick's room. It was plain, simple, and all wood save for the wall that had windows. Frederick in green striped pajamas sat in his bed with a steaming cup of tea on his nightstand. He stared out the raining window.

"Even if you want the weather to change if won't while you're here in the Anti-Realm." Adam tried to crack a joke but hated the way it sounded coming out. Frederick's head turned to him with a smirk.

"Welcome back, Master Adam." He smiled happily at him. "I'm so glad to see you. I'm sorry that I could not greet you properly at the Wardrobe. I had the worst headache overcome me and had a small spell.

"Yeah, that's what Mr. V said." He sighed as he walked over to the bed. "Also said it had something to do with things that I'm doing Apfel."

"Ah, well, that doesn't really surprise me." He smiled up at Adam. "I already saw this coming, especially since I am apart of the story, even if it is by the tiniest bit."

"You know, I don't know why you were telling me that I needed to be kind to you." He held the paper sack that had the three apple crumble muffins out to Frederick. "You haven't exactly stricken me as a bad guy."

"So you met me today?" He chuckled. "Did you recognize me by my charming good looks despite the wrinkles?" Another chuckle. "What's this?" He mused as he took the bag from Adam.

"When I met you in town today you said that this was your favorite."

"Apple crumple muffins." He gasped as he took one from the bag and began to unwrap it. "Dear lord, they still had some at the end of the day?!" Carefully holding the muffin in his hand he took a large bite of it and fell back against the pillows, melting in happiness. "Oh, how I have missed these." He continued to scarf the muffin down until it was entirely devoured.

"I'll have to remember to get you more next time." he chuckled and crossed his arms. "If I knew you liked these that much I would have gotten them for you much sooner."

"Don't worry about it, Master Adam." He chuckled and wiped away the crumbs from his beard and mustache. "They are hard to come by towards the end of the day. The baker hates having anything that is a day old in the shop. He just throws whatever can't be sold out by the end of the day or sells it at such a low cost he's practically cheated himself."

"I was curious about that. I felt like I underpaid."

"Don't feel that way." He chuckled and waved it off. "The fat fool just has a high amount of pride. If they didn't sell well during the day he knows better than trying to sell them at full price in the evening."

Frederick himself seemed to enjoy getting the muffins for so cheap, which would explain why they were his favorites. As he unwrapped the second one Adam could not help but glance Frederick over. Everything about him looked the same, though there almost seemed to be something off about him. He was still wrinkly, old, balding, and creaky, but somehow there was something youthful trying to hide underneath.

"How are you really feeling?" Adam asked studying his face, looking for any sign that would give a hint or a glimpse of something being wrong.

"Just fine, Master Adam." He huffed with a frown. "I understand that I am the oldest member of the Staff here, but I do not need to be coddled or taken care of!" He frowned and stuffed the muffin into his mouth.

"I never once implied that." He snorted at the older man's angst. "Still, if there is something that you need, please do not hesitate to ask me."

"You are not supposed to be waiting on me, Master Adam." He frowned and set the third apple crumble muffin next to his tea cup on the nightstand. "I am your butler, therefore I am supposed to wait on you."

"Frederick." Adam growled growing tired of this man's stubbornness.

"However." Frederick laced his fingers together and avoided eye contact with Adam. "I do have a small request."

"Name it."

"Would you please go and check on Queen Grimhilde?" His hands tightened together. "Here in the Anti-Realm?"

"Before I respond." He took a deep breath. "Why would you ask of me to go and see that - " He remembered the warning that Frederick had already given him about calling her an old hag. " - woman in this Realm?"

"Because just like Frederick the Queen has been experiencing a few problems." Mr. V answered from behind him. Mr. V stood propped up in the doorway leaning on his cane.

"You're the head of this, why don't you go and tend to this?" Adam countered as he turned to look at Mr. V.

"Because I have already had to speak with the Evil Queen once." He smirked and tapped his cane before sauntering into the room. "Plus, I'm making everyone do a Recon and visit home for those who haven't already."

"I refuse." Adam shook his head and crossed his arms.

"You can refuse all you want," Mr. V shrugged. "You signed a contract and you're going to do as I say because guess what? It is part of your mission."

"Why would you require us to go and visit the Villains?" Adam growled lowly. "I thought we weren't supposed to be getting in contact with them?"

"Yeah, well, ya know what?" He chuckled darkly. "I done changed my mind, Adam. There is a lotta weird things that are happening and I can't get in touch with everyone to find out what's changed and what hasn't. So that's mean you're going to go see the Evil Queen as required for a mission as well as by Frederick's request that you allowed him to make." He snapped a smile on his face before taking a step back and making his way to exit the room. "I expect to see you at dinner this evening. I have an important announcement to make."

Adam glared after Mr. V as he exited the room and Frederick hesitantly watched Adam, curious to how he would react. All he had truly seen Adam do was ball everything up, huff, puff, and bury his anger. Now that his memories were changing he somehow knew that Adam was a dangerously powerful person that needed to be both respected and appeased in the best and worst situations.

Adam's anger seethed and he could only ball his hands into fists as he tried to bury the anger. Having an outburst in front of Frederick would do nothing to help him in his condition and it would not be a position that he currently wanted to be in. He wanted to do two things. He wanted to cause colossal destruction, but he also wanted to go see Snow White so that the anger would somehow just disappear. She had this magical ability of making all of his negative emotions just flutter away. It was unsettling how easily it worked as well as relieving.

"If the request is too much, Master Adam." Frederick cleared his throat. "I will not ask you to do such a thing -"

"At ease, Frederick." He tipped his head to the ceiling and stared at the cracks that crackled on the high surface. "I'm going to do it. . . There are just some things in life that are easier than others."

"I apologize, Master Adam." His old withered hands balled into fists. "If I knew that Mr. V stood right outside I never would have - "

"At ease, Frederick." He looked at the old man and truly saw how guilty the old man in the bed was. "I'll do it. Just make a better request next time."

With nothing left to say to the old man Frederick turned on his heel and left the room to return to his own. It was almost a month since he had seen the Evil Queen and he relished every moment not being in her presence here in the Anti-Realm even though he had to put up with her in Apfel. At least there he could truly get away from her when necessary. Here when he was in her castle he was in her realm of experimentation and torture. Depending on how things have taken to her in this Realm after some of his actions and choices he has made in Apfel she could be either livid or hysterically crazy mad; which neither were good but he would rather take the former rather than the latter.

Standing in front of his room he could not help but glare at his door. Although it would lead to his guest room of sorts while he was in the castle, it would also open up to a special portal that would take him to his real room in the remnants of the Evil Queen's castle. All he would have to do was pull the doorknob from its hold in the door and turn it upside down for it to take him to the other room. He knew what he needed to do to get this over and done with, but he really didn't want to do it.

"Hey, Adam." A hand rested on his shoulders and caused Adam to snap around with his hand at the person's throat. "Yo man, chill." It was Eight Foot Joe, he did not seem too surprised by Adam's response and even seemed bored that his poisonous hand rested so close to his throat. "You look like you were having a panic attack or something. You good man?"

"I'm fine." Adam relaxed as he pulled his hand away and ran a hand through his hair.

"Doesn't look like it." Joe snorted and stuck his hands into his front pockets.

"I have to go see my Villain." He groaned slightly.

"Ah, that's rough man." He winced and rubbed the back of his neck. "But from what Mr. V has gone around saying we gotta go check in on the Villains to make sure they're alive and kickin' or some shit like that since we've been going and rewriting our stories alongside the real stories."

"Doesn't make it any easier to go and see the old hag." He hissed and balled his hands into fists.

"Yeah, but it is easier to go ahead and get it over with now than later." He shrugged before placing his hands behind his head and leaning back. "The old sea witch is probably going to boil over if her memory is even more screwy than it already was."

"I'm not particularly fond of seeing the Evil Queen either." Adam grimaced. "I know she's going to find some way of stabbing me for this."

"Tough luck, man." Joe grimaced too. "Good luck though, maybe you'll get away unscathed."

He mock saluted Adam before he flipped his doorknob upside down and stepped into the Realm of water that made up Atlantica. Adam turned to his door and with a gulp proceeded to grasp the doorknob, flip the entire thing upside down, before stepping into his own portal that would take him to his dungeon cell of the Evil Queen's castle.

The reeking musk of mold wafted in the air and stung his nose to notify that he had officially and successfully made it to the place that was claimed as his abode; he did not say home because it was the farthest thing from being a home that even the homeless would not claim it. A shriek of anger echoed off the walls and a crash of breaking glass followed.

"Great." He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair and continued to make his way through the dungeons. "She's in a lovely mood."

He followed the green flames that lighted the pungent path that would lead him to her lair. As he walked around the corner he was not prepared to see her. In the Apfel Realm she was infinitely young and beautiful, however in the Anti-Realm in the remnants of the Apfel Castle she was anciently old. The sight before him was not horrifying, however it was entirely unexpected. She was middle aged. She was never middle aged. He could see that the remnants of her youth were wrinkled and graying. She always looked like an old hag while in the Anti-Realm unless she were meeting with other Villains or meeting people in which case she would have taken a youth potion to reverse her age. She never was middle aged, she just always skipped it for some reason.

The middle aged phase did not last for long because as she looked in the Mirror she went back to her youth, but as soon as she touched her face she became ancient. Another shriek escaped her and she threw a potion at the doorway where it landed in front of Adam at his feet.

"You're certainly in high spirits." He looked down at his feet before looking up at her.

"You!" Her gnarled hands pointed the crooked fingers at him. "You- You traitor!" She hobbled over to him hissing a slew of curses and profanities at him.

"I have not betrayed you, my queen." He sighed as he looked down at her. _At least not yet. . ._

"Don't lie to me boy!" She snapped and grabbed at his coat. "My memories! You're in them! You have betrayed me!"

"Have you forgotten what it is that you assigned me to do?" He sneered down at her. "Have you finally gotten dementia?"

"Don't insult me you fool!" She smacked his chest - mostly because as an old hag she could not reach his face as she came to under his elbow - before shoving off of him and stepping away. "Ever since this whole Recruiter program began things have changed!"

"What do you mean?"

"My memories have changed." She crossed her arms and glared at him and suddenly changed into a young woman. "You are in them and the story that I once knew so well has completely changed!"

"I will remind you that was part of the contract in the Recruiter Program." He mirrored her by crossing his arms and looking down at her.

"But things here are also changing." She held her head. "Color is coming back to the castle, flowers are trying to grow, the fountain is no longer broken -"

"Things are fixing themselves, and you're complaining?"

"OF course I am!" She yelled at him.

"If things are changing here then that means that you're getting closer to having the ending that you want!" Adam yelled back at her.

"IF that is so, then why can't I stand the sight of you?"

"You have never liked the sight of me!"

"You're wrong!" She snarled as she became ancient. "Even though you were not naturally created you are nonetheless _my son_. And as much as it may sicken you to be thought of that way you are mine. You have obediently obeyed me for the last few years and have earned my respect." Her volume had quieted some but her tone was still angry. "I know that most times I was not in my right mind and I tortured you to teach you lessons, but I have _never _been so wroth with anger upon looking at you until now."

"Well, at least you claim me as your son." He rolled his eyes and frowned down at her. "I have still yet to figure out why Frederick is so infatuated with you, all you ever seem to want is the absolute worst in life."

"Frederick?" All anger left her as she said the name and she flashed to her younger self. "You know of Frederick?"

"Of course." He nodded his head slowly and chose his words carefully. "He is in Apfel, after all. With you assigning me the mission of killing Snow White, I was bound to run into him at some point."

"O-Of course." She cleared her throat and looked away from him, rather embarrassedly. "How is he?"

"He's fine." He shrugged. "Though, the way you treat him I don't really see why you should care."

"Watch it boy." She hissed and aged up again. "You would do well to avoid that sass and sarcasms with me."

"It was only by his request that I came to check on you anyways." He huffed and took a step back. "He was very concerned about you and your well-being in all of this. Much to his delight I shall be informing him that you are in high health and just as insane as I remember."

"He asked about me?" She became youthful again and if Adam hadn't already seen it happen off and on throughout their conversation he would not have believed that she was oddly enough regaining her youth from all of her mixed up crazy emotions.

"Of course he would." He snorted at the woman before him. "You and I both know he has always cared for you in so many ways. Why would it surprise you that he asked about you?"

"Don't be impertinent." She snipped and became middle aged again. "If this is all that you require of my time then you are dismissed. Return to the little cell or wherever it is that you came from and leave me be."

"Now that I have your permission," He growled in his throat. "I will be taking my leave shortly. However, I do have one more matter of business to discuss with you."

"And what, pray tell, is that?" She looked exasperated and rolled her eyes at him.

"Is there a way to get rid of the poisonous layers of skin that I have?" He stared her directly into the eyes without breaking eye contact to show her how serious he was.

"Remove the poison?" She gawked for a moment. "Well, I dare say it isn't impossible, I just don't know if it is at all or in fact possible."

"Can you or can you not precure me a remedy for the poison that has plagued my body?" He snapped and stood with his hands balled into fists as he looked down at her. "You, oh great apothecary, great chemist, great alchemist, can you actually remedy my poison?"

"It is not as simple as you would like to think, Adam." She hissed and touched her fingers to her temple. "Your entire chemical makeup was made up of negative emotions and poisons. Although your frame and anatomy has most definitely taken on the form of a human, because of your special birth into this world you have certain capabilities that no one else in any universe will ever have. I more than likely could take them away." She said confidently with a shrug. "However, that could also mean that you not only become handicapped but could lose your life in the process."

"I can smell hogwash Evil Queen." He snorted down at her. "I know you're capable, you just don't particularly want to help me at the moment."

"I, in fact, do not feel inclined to help you in any sort of way at the moment." She agreed and stuck her hands into the sleeves of her cloak. "Between the loathing I have for you of you being in my mere presence as well as the nasty attitude you have shown me today, you will be waiting a while before I decide anything about removing or enhancing your poisons."

Adam's jaw clenched and he glared at her.

"Do you have anything else that you wish to speak with me about?" She raised a challenging eyebrow at him.

"No." He spoke through clenched teeth. "I shall be taking my leave now."

Without so much as a goodbye, he turned on his heel and disappeared through a portal to take him to the Anti-Castle.

Already in a sour mood he did not want to join the others for the dinner meal, not that he had for a few weeks, but Mr. V had insisted on his going because he had some sort of announcement that he needed to present to hear. Much to his chagrin he sat in his seat with the others and nibbled on the meal placed before him, but mostly sipped on the wine to try to settle his mood. Everyone, with the exception of Jane Hook and himself, was loudly engrossed in their conversations with each other. Even Mr. V and Ms. Scatter were both rather engrossed in an amusing and flushing conversation.

"Excellent." Mr. V smiled as he ate his eggs. "We will leave around five or so, pick up a bite to eat, then waltz our way to downtown. Sound nice?"

"Yes," Ms. Scatter flushed and stuffed a bagel into her mouth. "That sounds very nice."

Adam could not help but roll his eyes at their ever so silent affections that they avoided with one another.

"Ah, I should let the others know. . . " Mr. V looked up from his meal and out to the others. "All right, everyone." He tapped his cane three times and all eyes were on him. "I have an announcement to make."

"Are you retiring?" Shade asked while eating a bagel. Adam smirked a little at that, but quickly allowed his smirk to fall back into a firm line.

"No." Mr. V glared at her across the room and many snickers echoed. "This evening, you may stay out until midnight."

The room was deathly still and ghostly quiet. Even Adam was shocked. Mr. V, though he was usually rather relaxed and calm was very strict with punctuality and curfew. He had no problem coming and hunting them down if they were not in their rooms by curfew or in time for dinner. Even though Adam preferred to be alone for his dinners and ate them in his rooms Mr. V would pop in to make sure he was eating or would assign Frederick to join him for his dinner.

"And to what do we owe this privilege?" Adam asked and pushed his meal aside and stared at MR. V head on.

"Ms. Scatter and I have a few meetings that we must attend to this evening and we will not be back until late." He explained. "Instead of rising the chance of you lot destroying my castle while I'm gone, I'd rather you cause a little more trouble in your own Realm. You must all be back by midnight this evening, however. I shall have the Staff waiting for each and everyone of your arrivals, so please make it easier on the Staff and do as you're told."

Not needing to be told twice, Adam jumped up completely disregarding his meal and darting to his room. He would need at least two pairs of clothes to survive his night and stay in Apfel as well as a possible book for Snow White. He had yet to pick out her book because what she wanted was rather obscure, yet simple. An adventurous romance with a happy ending. There were very few books that he read that actually had a ending, even less that actually had an ending he was satisfied with. The ones that he had read and loved were _Frankenstein_ by Mary Shelley and _Wuthering Heights _by Emily Bronte; there was just something about the Gothic romances that he could not help but be drawn to. Finding something that she would be interested in would be rather difficult. Perhaps he would be able to determine what she would like after she got a bit better at reading. She has made steady progress with her reading so if she kept going at the pace she was, she would be ready to read almost anything.

Packing his few articles of clothing, a separate bag to keep the dirty clothes separate from the clean, his journal, and his usual items that he brought with him when he went back and forth between the Realms. He threw his messenger bag over his shoulder and he readied himself to go to the Wardrobe when he suddenly thought of Frederick. He needed to tell him of his meeting with the Evil Queen and the information that he had gathered. He stood in the doorway contemplating on what to do and what to say when that familiar ancient voice cleared his throat behind him.

"You seem hesitant, Master Adam." Frederick coughed as he stood in the hallway. "You rarely strike me as a man that would ever hesitate in anything."

"I was trying to decide what I needed to tell you." He dragged his hand down the back of his neck.

"Whatever it is that you wish to tell me, Master Adam." He gave him a smile and seemed to get some of his youth back.

"She's still a green fire." Adam frowned as he recalled his visit with the Evil Queen. "She's bouncing between ages as things are changing in Apfel."

"So she is affected by them as well. . ." He murmured to himself.

"I also asked if she knew of a way to remove the poison from my skin."

"How interesting." He put his hand to his shoulder. "And she said?"

"She didn't know of one off the top of her head." He gave a half shrug. "But since I did not deem myself at my best behavior, she is debating on even thinking of a way of removing it."

"I thought I told you to watch your tone." He huffed a growl. "Your tone comes across as very disrespectful!"

"That is all that I really had to share." He cleared his throat and walked past the threshold and past Frederic. "Oh, and she asked about you."

"She asked about me?" The pleasant surprise in his voice was enough to hurt Adam in his chest.

"I told her you were doing well and that you had asked about her. She seemed pretty pleased to now that you were thinking about her."

"Than you, Master Adam." His voice quivered and he put a hand over his heart. "You've given an old man a new hope. . . I will trust you to make your decisions. Please continue to change the horrors of the past."

Though Frederic could not see, Adam nodded his head in response and made his way to the Wardrobe so he could travel through the Door Between Realms and go to Apfel to spend his first twenty-four hours there.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!_

_I know it has been a little bit longer since I posted, but this chapter kept fighting me and would not come to a conclusion. -_- Also trying to pinpoint books (many of which I have not had the time to read) that would fit the description for Snow White's interests has been difficult to research. On the other hand, if you're in need of a good read I recommend both Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. Depending on your reading level they will be interesting or boring. They're both gradual reads, but once you get to chapter three in each of them the ball gets rolling and things start to fall into place._

_Please bear with me as I update this story as well as my others I just got new floors to install into my house and it takes up hours of the day and days of the week to install. I promise I'm writing, but I'm just slow on the updating. So many things keep happening, but I assure you that I am still writing!_

_Thank you for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

* * *

Chapter Nineteen

After stepping through the Door Between Realms Adam arrived in Apfel in the dead of night. The moon was high, the stars flickered overhead, and not a cloud in the sky to mar the beautiful scenery. Although the scenery was beautiful, it was very dark and much to Adam's dismay there was no lights to guide him back to the city. Although he knew the way very well he was not entirely sure that even he could make that trek through the dark. The last thing he needed to do was to actually go through the small villages in the dark and cause a stir or some sort of chaos. As he stood at the mouth of the Door Between Realms laughter echoed over the valleys and Adam spotted light in the distant house that belonged to the dwarves.

"Well, I suppose now is a good a time as any to meet them. . ." He sighed and began to make his way down the mountain when a flash of purple caught his eye. His hand immediately went to his sword, but before he drew his sword he saw one of the dwarves. It was the dwarf they called Dopey. He was waving his hands and doing odd hand motions as if he were trying to communicate with him.

"You should know better than to sneak up on people." Adam scolded as he removed his hand from his hilt. The dwarf did not say anything but continued to do the hand motions. As Adam watched him he remembered that this was the same way that he communicated with the other dwarves. "Do you speak English? Or is it Apfel?" He asked politely and slowly trying to communicate with him. The dwarf seemed to grow more and more frustrated before he finally grabbed Adam's hand and began to drag him down the mountain. Not wanting to argue with the poor deaf dwarf he allowed the dwarf to guide him down the mountain until they finally reached the dwarf's house.

"Dopey!" a dwarf from inside the house then blew a horn that vibrated the ground. "Dopey!"

The deaf dwarf ran to the doo and knocked loudly before the door flung open and six other dwarves waited inside.

"Dopey!" The one named Doc beamed and wrapped him up in a tight hug. "You scared me half to death! You know you're not supposed to be out at night!"

"Yay, he's back." A sleepy looking dwarf yawned. "Does this mean that we can go back to bed now?"

"Yes, Sleepy." Doc rolled his eyes then turned to Dopey. He released the deaf dwarf and continued to do hand motions and Dopey did not look scared or ashamed, merely responded and pointed to Adam who stood quietly behind him. Seven pairs of eyes turned back to him and blinked in curiosity.

"Great, not only did he go for a stroll at night he also brought somethin' home too," Grumpy spit outside and glared up at Adam. "Who the heck are you?"

"Grumpy, language!" Doc scolded.

"Yeah, Grumpy." An overly happy one chuckled. "Watch your mouth. But, who are you?"

"I am Adam." Adam introduced himself. "I am Adam Appoi."

"What are you doin' all the way out here, huh?" Grumpy spat again. "Pretty dark out and late out to be just going or a stroll."

"I went for a hike earlier today." He explained, "However, I took a rest up on the mountain, but I ended up sleeping longer than I meant to and when I tried to make the trek down the mountain, I ran into Dopey here." He pointed to Dopey. "I don't speak sign language, though, so I didn't know what he was saying. He just dragged me here. . ."

"That's Dopey all right." Doc sighed. "Well, come on in, we have a few leftover if you're hungry. We at least have some warm ale left that will warm you right up."

"Thank you. . ." Adam wanted to decline the invitation simply because he could tell that he was far too tall to try to enter the house. However, Dopey grabbed him by the hand and led him into the house. Adam had to stoop almost into a squat to get into the doorway of the house. The only place he could stand up completely straight was the foyer because he had a higher ceiling than the rest of the house. He had to sit down in a chair and crouch as he walked. He was brought to the kitchen or dining area, of that he could hardly tell because there were just piles and piles of filthy plates and cups and bowls and cutlery that were covered in grim and remnants of old food. He clenched his jaw to keep himself from turning his nose up at the hospitality these dwarves had offered him.

Dopey led him to a high backed chair that he could actually rest his head on the very tip of the back of the chair. Still rather fumbling around, Dopey brought him a relatively clean pint cup and poured the ale in it. Just lie Doc had promised it was still warm and Adam had not realized how cold he was. The ale warmed him up just nicely and as he drank the other dwarves, with the exception of Sleepy who had crawled into his bed, joined him at the clean end of their table.

"So what brings you to our neck of the woods?" Doc asked as he eased himself into his chair.

"We don't get too many people out here." Happy giggled and propped his head in his hands.

"Y-y-y-yeah." Bashful burned a deep red and hid in his beard.

"I'm new in town." He spoke honestly as he set his mug down. "I'm on a mission of sorts to stop the Queen. . . Even though I am her nephew."

"What, ya trying ta overthrow her or somethin'?" Grumpy spat and crossed his arms and his legs.

"Not at all." He shook his head and held the handle of the pint cup. "She just hasn't given me any reason to help her."

"Well, though she is the Queen." Doc spoke kindly and pulled at the collar of his shirt as if it was too tight around his neck. "She is far from the kindest person I have ever met."

"She's a royal witchy bitch." Grumpy humped and looked to Adam. "If you got a bone to pick with her that's one thing, but don't you dare go draggin' us in it!"

"Grumpy!" Doc scolded.

"I had no intention of doing so." Adam sighed and took another swig of the ale.

"Don't mind him." Happy laughed, trying to laugh the whole situation off. "He's just grumpy, literally."

"And you're too damn happy, Happy!" Grumpy snapped before grabbing his ale and stalking off from the table.

"Oh if I could only pay rubies and diamonds. . ." Doc groaned and rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"If it would make things better, I can just leave -"

"No." Doc held his hand up. "If you leave now Dopey would just follow you and there is no telling when we'd find him again. HE brought you here, so you need to at least stay the night to at least keep him here."

"You make him sound like a lost puppy."

"Normally he isn't." Doc sighed, but gave Dopey a kind look. "But as of late he keeps hanging out towards the end of the line, he keeps wandering off, and this is the third night in a row that he's gone out at night."

"It has been rather problematic." Sneezy sniffled and rubbed his nose. "Usually he stays in front of me, but lately he . . He. . . He. . .!" He reared up to have s big sneeze, but Happy stuck his finger under his nose to keep him form sneezing. "Thank you." He chuckled. "But lately Dopey keeps walking at the back with Grumpy."

"Which has only made Grumpy more grumpy." Bashful agreed quietly.

"He's just curious." Doc sighed and placed a hand on Dopey's shoulder. Dopey was drinking his ale when he suddenly stopped, looked at Doc, and gave him a smile before chugging his ale. "But as of late there just seems to be stuff in the forest that keeps catching his attention."

Adam remained quiet because he felt somewhat at fault for that. Every morning when he came into the Apfel Realm he always saw the dwarves making their way to the mines, and every morning Dopey waved at him. Never once had Adam waved back, mostly to keep from drawing too much attention to himself, however if he was the cause of this dwarf causing such a disturbance in the everyday order maybe he needed to take another route. . .

Dopey looked up at Adam and began to move his hands. Dopey placed his fists together, thumbs up, tolling his hands forwards so the palms ended up facing up and the fingers slightly curled in and pointed to Adam. Adam could only blink at Dopey.

"He's asking 'how are you?'." Doc chuckled. "He's speaking sign you."

"And he does this by speaking with his hands?" He looked to Doc. Doc nodded with a smile.

"Do you want to respond to him?" Doc asked. "I can show you, or I can respond for you."

" I would like to respond. . ." He much preferred to speak for himself. "But I don't know how."

"Well, how are you doing?" Happy chuckled.

"I'm fine?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Then copy this." Doc brought one open hand up to the middle of his chest with his thumb on his chest and tapped it on his chest a few times. Adam repeated the motion and Dopey clapped his hands excitedly and laughed. Adam looked to Doc to see what he needed to do next.

"He's excited you responded." Doc chuckled and rubbed his hand over Dopey's bald head. "Not many people know how to speak sign language. He gets excited whenever someone does speak back to him."

"It really is a shame." Happy sighed, not so happily. "There's a few kids in the orphanage that are deaf and they're the only ones he really gets to talk to outside of us. Then again, since he talks to the kids that probably keeps him younger." He chuckled happily.

"Well, I would like to learn." Adam cleared his throat and set his pint back on the table. "It would seem like a useful thing to learn."

"Well, we can talk about it more in the mornin'." Doc let out a huge yawn. "It's already really late and I'll gave Grumpy and Dopey show you the way back to town come daylight."

"Thank you." Adam nodded his head graciously.

"Just follow us, we'll do something so you can have a bed." Happy chuckled.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, you're rather tall. . ." Doc cleared his throat. "And well, we're dwarves. . ."

"Ah, I see." The realization of the beds not being fit for his size finally hit him. "Well, you need not worry, I'm used to sleeping outside under the stars, so I will just sleep outside."

"I don't really think that is very hospitable of us-"

"And I refuse to allow you to give up your bed just for me." Adam stood and hit his head on the ceiling. He grimaced, but made no noise letting the dwarves know how much it hurt. "I will be excusing myself now -" He turned to leave, but the little green sleeve of Dopey reached out and held his hand and gave him pleading blue eyes. "I'm just going outside . . ." Adam sighed as he gently removed his hand and went to the foyer where he could stand at his full height before escaping to the front yard.

The cool night air was refreshing and very welcoming to Adam as he stood ad breathed it all in. He could feel the eyes of the dwarves on him, and to make sure to keep his word he merely went over to the tree that provided shade during the day over the house, propped himself up to make himself comfortable and closed his eyes to appease the dwarves. He could hear their hushed whispers of trying to come up with a plan to bring him back inside, however, they eventually quieted. As soon as they quieted, an odd warmth was draped over Adam's shoulders and something snuggled up on his right side. Adam peeked his eye open to see that Dopey had brought a blanket and draped it over him and decided to sleep outside with him. He internally groaned, but said nothing as he tried to actually go to sleep and not be bothered by the innocent dwarf that showed him a great kindness that could challenge Snow White.

Much to his luck the deaf dwarf went to sleep almost immediately. The little dwarf must have tired himself out from exploring the mountain at night. Adam looked to the doorway and could see Doc watching them carefully. Although he did not want to reenter that house, it would be better to make sure that Dopey was in the care of his brethren rather than a stranger. Being careful as he moved, Adam draped the blanket over Dopey, bundled him up, scooped him up, and carried him inside. Much to Doc's surprise and instant relief that he was being returned, he held the door open for Adam to enter. Making sure not to complain nor to hit his head Adam carefully followed Doc upstairs where the bedroom was. Each bed had a name at the foot labeling who the owner of the beds were. Much to his chagrin, Dopey's bed was the farthest from the door, which meant that Adam had to squat as he walked to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling and beams. He tucked Dopey back into his bed and returned downstairs where Doc politely showed him the door.

"Thank you for that, friend." He smiled and resisted a yawn. "I'll explain to Dopey that you just brought him inside because you woke up early."

"Thank you." Adam nodded his head and returned to his spot. He gathered his things and was not surprised to see that the dwarves had locked up shop for the night and all the lights were off. Not wanting to actually sleep outside when he had _two_ choices of a bed and room to sleep in Adam continued on his way through the woods.

Adam found the forest to be much darker than the mountain. Perhaps it was the swamps, or perhaps it was because the forest was in the valley, but even though he was used to skulking around in the dark of night regularly in the Anti-Realm, there was an undefinable darkness that left him feeling cold. It was possibly the most familiar thing he has felt between the two Realms and that disturbed him to the utmost degree. The darkness wanted to eat him, however, there was a small fire up ahead that provided enough light to bring hope. Adam approached and saw the young Frederick cooking fish over a fire and talking to a small hand mirror.

Adam stopped dead in his tracks as he watched Frederick talk to the hand mirror. That irritating sense of betrayal tried to gnaw at Adam's mind, but he would not allow it. He never once considered Frederick to be one to like the Mirror, especially after he went through great detail of telling Adam how much he hated the Mirror.

"Surely there must be a way of reversing all of this." Frederick sighed as he continued his conversation. "You and I both know that if she continues down this path I'll lose her forever."

"I will never understand your loyalty to her." The Mirror groaned. "She is far from anything special and the more dark magic she dwells in the farther she gets from being the fairest of them all."

"Do tell me, Mirror." Frederick snapped back. "Did you actually ever believe that she was the fairest of them all, or did you make that up simply for her own good?"

"There are certain things within all the Realms that require forces to move the plot forward." The Mirror droned. "However, the fairest of them all is something that does exist. It has to do with the purity of mind, body, and heart, the innocence of emotions and mind, and a spirit of kindness."

"And you dare to say that she is still the fairest of them all." Frederick snorted. "As of this point you are just lying to her."

"No, I'm not lying to her." The Mirror shook its head. "She has lost her purity and she has acted out more of naivety than innocence since she lost that the moment she first touched the dark arts."

"And this spirit of kindness ?" He snorted. "Hilde has not been kind since her father passed."

"That spirit is somewhat rekindling." The Mirror responded. "Though her plans for Snow White are for her own gain, because she is forced to do things in a way to be kind to Snow White she is more or less learning how to be kind."

Frederick was silent for a moment as he took this in and cursed. "Is this what has happened, is happening, or is going to happen?"

"I am mostly speaking the past tense, Frederick." The Mirror snickered. "Though I take pride and enjoyment out of being cruel and having the possibility of altering the future, I know what the future lies ahead for all of us, and to be frank, I'd rather avoid it all."

"And why is that?"

"Because the Queen will have lost all sense of reason, you are disposed of and wither away as nothing more as a butler, while I am the one that gets sent here to fix things." Adam spoke up and glared at the handheld mirror. "_He_ would know of this very well."

"And the key finally arrives." The Mirror chuckled.

"He's the key?" Frederick blinked as he looked at Adam.

"Have a pleasant conversation." The Mirror tapped out of the conversation and the face of the mirror returned to its shining silver self.

"The bastard." Frederick hissed.

"For as much as you've told me you hate that Mirror, you certainly seemed to have a deep conversation with it."

"The saying goes, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, boy." Frederick rolled his eyes as he chucked the mirror into his messenger bag. "What the hell are you doing out here in the Dark Forest in the dead of night?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I live here." Frederick pointed to a hut that was leaning on a wide oak tree. "So what are you doing here, boy?"

"As we are the same age I will ask you once to not call me boy." Adam could feel his nostrils flaring at the title. "My name is Adam Apple Poison, and I am here to in a sense stop the current future that I know from happening."

"The Mirror keeps calling you the key." Frederick plucked up one of his fish on a stick and handed it our to Adam. "You don't look like much, but I know you're much more dangerous to the touch than you like to let on."

"So you're the one who's been watching over me." Adam narrowed his eyes and took the fish on a stick, but remained standing. "I felt an odd presence that day."

"Though I don't necessarily approve of you getting rid of the goons in broad daylight, I can't blame you." Frederick gave a shrug and pulled out the second fish on a stick. "I had planned on doing it before you went and did it. I suppose I should be mad at you for taking away my prize, but you've been making the little lady happy, so I won't complain."

"Little lady?" Adam had no idea what to do or how to handle Frederick's informal way of speaking to him. Frederick was always polite and respectful.

"Snow White." He snorted. "You don't seem all that bright for someone who is supposed to be the key to everything around here."

"If I knew what I was the key too, perhaps I wouldn't feel as though I was in the dark so much."

"How'd you even find this place?" Frederick dug into his fish and talked between bites.

"I came from the mountains."

"In the middle of the night?" He raised a suspicious eyebrow at him.

"This is getting real old. . ." Adam murmured under his breath. "I went for a hike up the mountain - "

"Before you start spewing horse shit at me." Frederick raised his hand and stopped Adam. "I'm already aware that you're not Hilde's nephew, I'm also blatantly aware that you're not necessarily from Apfel, though you do look as though you're already more fit to rule here than Hilde. That said, I know you also go between Realms of sorts. . . I don't know how you do it, but I've watched you go through that Door." Adam could only blink at him as he listened to Frederick. "And before you seriously start questioning my stealth skills, yes they are very good, however, where my hut is located I can see a good portion of the mountains."

"Then do you have any questions you need answers to?" Adam bit into his own fish. It was surprisingly well cooked and well seasoned. He would have to add fish to the things he liked to eat.

"Just one." He flicked a fishbone into the fire and rested his elbows on his knees as he looked at Adam. "How are you going to actually change the future?"

"Definitely by not killing Snow White." His hand clenched over his stick. "It is a matter of outwitting the Mirror and outplaying the Queen."

"Outplaying?"

"Right now with the fancy prince that is coming in to seek Snow White's hand this is all a game to her." Adam stated. "She could care less about the prince so long as she gets rid of Snow White. As of right now it is only a matter of getting rid of Snow White, how she does it doesn't matter."

"I can see that." Frederick nodded and rubbed his chin. "I'm assuming you have a plan?"

"Always, my good sir." Adam chuckled. "However, I cannot and will not reveal any of it when a mirror is near. Even when it is shut off it listens."

"Fair enough." Frederick shrugged and went back to his fish. "Well, if you need help with anything, just let me know. Just don't ask often."

"I shouldn't require too much of you." Adam too continued to eat his fish. "Only that you not harm Snow White."

"Of that, my friend, I can promise you."

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far._

_I'm so sorry for the long wait on an update! T-T My house is finally coming together and I'm finally getting things moving forward to move. It is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. Thank you for your patience with me. I promise I'm getting back on my writing streak and getting this story together soon._

_Please leave me a review with your thoughts on the story so far._

_Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	20. Chapter 20

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

* * *

Chapter Twenty

After a long conversation about future plans with Frederick, Adam stayed awake until sunrise while Frederick slept. When daylight breached the mountain and shone down into the recesses of the Dark Forest Frederick awoke and they made their hike down the mountain. Adam was surprised by the amount of strength that he had to carry himself down the mountain and walking through the farmlands and city. He hadn't slept in almost twenty-four hours, but he felt as though he had as much energy as the sun. He wasn't sure what It was that was keeping his energy up. Perhaps it was because he was in Apfel in the sun; perhaps it was because he was on a mission; perhaps it was because he was rather excited to actually see Snow White.

When they got to the castle Frederick went one way to go see Queen Grimhilde while Adam went his usual route to Snow White's secret apple tree. He regretted the fact that he had not picked out a book for her yet, and since he felt as though he had time he made a quick detour to the library.

"She wants adventure, romance, and a happy ending. . ." He thought to himself and dragged a hand down his face. It would be hard to find something that matched that description and he didn't just want to give her a random book. . . He would at least try to find something and read the back of the book for the summary. He walked down the long rows of shelves and walked down the romance genre row.

Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austin.

Wuthering Heights: Emily Bronte.

A White So Red: Krystle Jones

Black Apple Poison: Sarah Jordan

His eyes lingered on the last two books. They seemed as though they would be perfect books for her to read. He read the titles several times to commit them to memory so that he could come back and retrieve them later. For the time being he needed to check up on Snow White and her reading. It was a little after nine so she would be in her secret grotto doing laundry or weeding or picking apples. The corners of his mouth tugged into a small smile as he went on his way to the secret apple tree. As he walked his thoughts wandered off onto the next subjects that would need to be taught, the grammar and mechanics behind things, as well as her writing. Her writing was beautiful, impeccable even; he was slightly jealous of her pretty handwriting and almost wished he could write as elegantly. He rounded the corner that would take them to the secret apple tree when her voice suddenly cut through his thoughts with her singing.

From where he could see her in the courtyard, she was weeding the cobble stones and airing out her thoughts to the animals and the well. There were at least a dozen doves surrounding Snow White as she hummed softly to herself. She had this adorable little habit of doing this from time to time and Adam always made sure to give her the proper privacy she deserved while also taking the time to listen to her lovely singing voice.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm . . ." She pulled on the ropes to get the bucket from the softly giggled to herself and sighed before looking at the doves. "Want to know a secret?" She asked in a hushed voice as she looked to the doves. "Promise not to tell?" She smiled sweetly down at the doves and held one hand to the rope and the other on the mouth of the well. "We are standing by a wishing well~." She began to sing her next few words.

"Make a wish into the well, that's all you have to do, and if you hear it echoing, your wish will soon come true." She sang almost as if she were actually teaching the doves about the well and how it worked. It was adorable, it was innocent, and Adam could feel that hammering in his chest at the thought.

"I'm wishing." She leaned over the mouth of the well and sang into it and it echoed back to her.

I'm wishing

"For the one I love." She leaned over the mouth again. "To find me"

To find me

"Today."

Today.

Adam could not help but feel his heart swell at those words. This was not the first time she had sung this song, but every time he heard it he wanted to respond to her in turn. However, that went against many gentlemanly codes and he worried that it would embarrass her.

"I'm hoping."

I'm hoping.

"And I'm dreaming of." She leaned up against the post of the well as she continued to sing into the well. "The nice things."

The nice things.

"He'll say."

He'll say.

She then proceeded to sing a melody of 'ah's into the well to have them echo back at her and Adam closed his eyes, rested his head on the brick walls, and just listened to her singing as she began to go into the song for a second time. She often times would sing the verse a few ties before finally drawing her water pale and returning to her weeding and scrubbing. Due to his attention being solely focused on Snow White's singing he had not noticed the clopping of hooves that were rounding the stone walls around the castle.

"I'm wishing."

I'm wishing

"For the one I love. To find me."

To find me.

"Today. . ."

"Today!" Suddenly a masculine voice did a vibrato and Adam instantly snapped to attention. He rounded the corner to see Snow White backing away in more surprise than fear and the flouncy fancy prince has finally made his cursed arrival. His hair was brown, his eyes were of the same brown, and he wore royal blue clothes and a plush red hat with a white feather plume sticking out of it.

"Hello," he said oh so cheerily to Snow White as he removed his hat from his head. "Did I frighten you?"

Much to Adam's delight Snow White ran away and allowed the bucket to drop over the prince's shoes. "Wait!" He called after her and almost chased after her. "Wait, please don't go! Don't run away!"

Adam walked out from behind the door and Snow White immediately ran into his arms without so much of a thought as to question why he was here. He quickly tucked her away inside and he closed the door behind them and they hide behind the wall that led up to the spiraling stairs.

"Are you all right?" he asked looking down at her.

She said nothing but nodded her head as she clung to him. Her litter heart fluttered like a hummingbird and she quivered like a leaf in his arms. Although the man did not do anything to her, he most definitely surprised her, and given the things that has happened in the past he understood why she was as shaken as she was. Much to his chagrin the prince just stood out in the courtyard singing.

"Now that I've found you," he held his hat up to the window, almost trying to find her."Hear what I have to say."

"Dear Lord, no." Adam groaned and glared out the window and saw the boy trying to approach the balcony. From another person's point of view this would be a very romantic scene. However to Snow White it was frightful and for Adam he found that his blood lust was quickly growing. . .

"Do you want me to get rid of him?" he asked through gritted teeth, and much to his dismay she shook her head no.

"One song, I have but one song," He sang out. "One song only for you."

"He can't be serious." Adam rolled his eyes and got a snorted laugh from Snow White.

"Hush." She swatted at his chest. "Don't make me laugh, that's almost mean."

"Almost." He smirked down at her and she beamed a smile up at him. His heart clenched at the sight and eased the blood lust away.

"One heart, tenderly beating, ever entreating, constant and true." He continued.

"He's still going." Adam huffed and watched the prince sing his heart out to the person-less balcony.

"One love that has possessed me, one love thrilling me through." He started to walk up the stairs while still staring at the balcony in hopes that she would appear there; which Adam would not let her unless she absolutely wanted to go. . . "One song my heart keeps singing of one love only for you."

He finally quieted and Adam let out a sigh of relief. "I think he's finally done!"

"He had a nice singing voice. . ." She tried to be positive as she snickered up at Adam. "It wasn't the worse I've heard."

"Please, my dear." His index finger found her part and the loose curl from her quick run and set it in place behind her ear. "You and I both know that there are very few tenors in the world that are nice to listen to. They are always the ones that mess up in choirs."

"Adam!" She gasped but hid her smile behind her hands.

"We both know that I could sing that better." He chuckled as he watched to make sure the prince was actually leaving.

"Can you?" An innocent curiosity shined in those doe brown eyes.

"You doubt me?"

"No. . ." She looked at him head on. "It's just. . . I've never heard you sing before. . ."

"Perhaps one day I will." He chuckled and allowed his hand to rest on her cheek. Much to his ever growing secret happiness she leaned her head into his palm. "But today we have lessons."

"But where shall we have them?" She frowned as she glance out the window. "I highly doubt he's left yet. . ."

"You're probably right." He sighed and released his hands from her. "We'll have to do lessons in the library today. You go on ahead and get changed, I'll pick things up from here."

"Thank you," She breathed a sigh of relief and she seemed to glow in a soft ray of beauty. She did a small curtsey and ran off to change out of her scullery maid attire and change into something else for the day. Adam, on the other hand, stood straighter and made his way out the door from which Snow White ran from. When he opened the door he was surprised to see that the prince was not awaiting at the door to have yet another chance to serenade the fair maiden, however, he was not surprised to see that the fool was waiting at the foot of the balcony for her to make an appearance. Adam rolled his eyes and thought about making some snide comment of that she wasn't interested in him, that she wouldn't be coming, that he should just go home, however that would just start a conversation with him and would actually draw his attention to himself; and Adam would rather avoid that.

Quietly walking towards the well he bent down and picked up the spilled bucket. From there he glanced over his shoulder to see the dejected prince kicking the ground and slowly turning to walk away. A sense of victory overcame Adam and a smug smirk came over his face as he turned to go gather the morning laundry and other items from the morning's chores. He made sure to keep his back to the prince so as not to draw any more attention to himself, however, as he picked up the wicker basket full of laundry with the red book resting on top the wicker basket creaked slightly and the prince suddenly made his way over to Adam.

"You there!" He called, almost in the same sing-song voice. "A moment of your time!"

"No." He said loud enough for the prince to hear.

"No?" The prince blinked as though he has never been told the word in his life. "Surely you jest, sir."

Adam stopped and turned to glare at the prince. He was quite young, he actually looked younger than Snow White, which was really saying something since she was eighteen but she looked as though she were sixteen. As Adam stood next to this prince he noticed the short stature. Adam already acknowledged that he was possibly the tallest one in the entire Realm, but the prince did not seem to be any taller than Snow White. If Snow White wore her little heels then she would definitely be taller than him.

"I am Prince Florian Ferdinand of Franca!" He did a dramatic twirl with his wrist, placed his hat back on his head and smiled towards the sun. Adam could only roll his eyes at the fool.

"And I do not care." Adam growled down at him. "You are wasting my time."

"Time spent with Prince Florian is never a waste!" He argued rather loudly. "But I assure you that I won't take too much of your time."

"No." Adam continued to walk away, but the prince has the audacity to grab his shoulder and spin him around.

"Please, sir, I just need to know who that fair maiden was!" He said not taking no as an answer. "She was the most beautiful creature that my eyes have ever beheld! Even if she was a scullery maid, I must know who she was!"

"How dare you!" Adam hissed and shook him off. The bloodlust from before was quickly growing. "To call a woman a creature is just below any role a man should have! How dare you - "

"She's just a scullery maid." Prince Florian scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "Please, any servant no matter how beautiful, should not be treated anything more than their status in life. To me she is just a creature, even if she is a beautiful creature."

Adam's hands gripped the wicker handles so tightly that they were snapping and fraying. He also had not noticed that his poison had burned through the cotton gloves and his poison was burning the wicker basket.

"What is that smell?" Prince Florian turned his nose up and covered his nose with his hand.

"Would you like to find out?" Adam mumbled as he held the basket in one hand and began to reach out his hand to the prince. That bloodlust burned deep through him. Between the lack of sleep and the Queen causing his blood pressure to rise he was abnormally paranoid and he wanted nothing more than to get rid of all of the problems in his life at the moment. The prince merely stared at him as Adam was reaching his hand out towards the prince's throat when someone cleared his throat.

"Excuse me gentlemen." It was Frederick. Adam immediately snapped out of it and held his head in his hand to withdraw some of the poison toxicity. "What are you two doing?"

"Finally, a cooperative person." Prince Florian waved his hand dramatically in the air. "Can you tell me who the beautiful creature was?"

"Creature?" Frederick looked to Adam, and it took everything within Adam to not reach his hand out and strangle the prince.

"The fair maiden that was out here singing." Florian huffed. "Why don't you people understand me?"

"Because here people don't refer to beautiful people as creatures." Adam growled and side stepped away from the prince. Just standing next to him was enough to make his blood boil.

"You must be Prince Florian Ferdinand." Frederick cleared his throat as he looked between the two.

"Of course, you couldn't tell?" He snapped and put his hands on his hips.

"Allow me to introduce myself." Frederick crossed his arms. "I am Queen Grimhilde's First Knight, and although we are expecting your arrival, you entering through the courtyard is considered trespassing."

"I was merely trying to find the front gates when I heard this beautiful singing voice!" Florian put his hands together and sighed. "And yet none of you can precure her name for me!"

"Because you do not deserve to know of her name, let alone who she is." Adam snapped.

"Prince Adam." Frederick cleared his throat.

"'Prince Adam'?" Florian looked to Adam in ever so wide-eyed and obvious surprise.

"Prince Florian is from Franca and is not used to our customs as theirs are so . . . Different."

"Different is putting it lightly." Adam seethed through gritted teeth. "Get this fool out of my sight."

"Of course," Frederick smirked. "Prince Florian, if you'll follow me, Queen Grimhilde is ready for your audience with her."

"If the Queen is ready." Florian cast glaring daggers at Adam. "Then I shall take my leave. Besides I don't really know my way around this place."

"Where is your horse?" Frederick sighed as he carefully escorted Florian away from Adam.

"On the other side of this wall."

Adam took his own chance to leave when Frederick suddenly returned and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Prince Adam." He spoke quickly. "I don't know why, bur for some reason I feel obligated to give you these. For some reason, I feel as though you need them. . ." He held out a pair of cotton gloves to Adam. Adam was not as surprised as he should be that Frederick was the one giving him a pair of replacement gloves; however since he was aware that the timeline of things are off balanced with his presence here thathe wasn't sure what was and what wasn't blending together.

"Thank you." Adam took them gratefully and quickly replaced his holey pair of gloves for the new pair that seemed to somewhat be stronger.

"Now I'm off to babysit. . ." Frederick groaned as he turned back to go deal with Prince Florian.

Before he could feel bad for Frederick he took his leave to go meet up with Snow White to begin their lessons. He could only hope that his mood would lighten like it normally did whenever they have lessons. He set down the laundry down in the small laundry room and picked up her red book to take it to her. As he walked he was ever so curious to what kind of things Snow White wrote in her red journal he had gotten for her. Not that it was his business, he had gotten it for her to use as a method of taking notes and practicing her writing, however he wanted to see where her progress was taking her.

"Just the first two pages. . ." He huffed and pulled off to the side in the shadows and cracked the book open. He just stared at the first page. It was just her name written over several times in different forms of her handwriting, almost as if she were trying her hand at different fonts. A small smile played on his lips as he could see the different thickness of each font style and attempt at another style of writing. When he turned the page his smile fell and his heart hammered in his chest. It was his name. It was his name. Adam. Adam Appoi. It was written over and over and over. There were a few where she had written Appoi with hearts to dot the 'I's, there were even a few where there were just hearts by his name.

His face felt warm, his palms felt rather sweaty, and his heart beat all the way to his ears as he turned the page as he saw Adam & Snow Appoi written on the next page. He only took a few seconds to look at it before snapping the book closed and holding it to his felt as though he had betrayed her trust by peeking in her journal, however, there was also such a great happiness that bubbled up within him. He found himself walkingfast to the library to see Snow White. Yes he was going to see her for their lessons, but he also wanted to see her to get some sort of confirmation on these possible feelings that he felt for her and what he hoped she felt for him. He burst through the library door and felt his heart continue to race as he saw her. She was in their usual corner sitting in her spot at their table reading a book and mouthing the words as she read.

She had changed out of her scullery maid dress and apron and clogs to a royal velvet blue dress with puffed sleeves at the shoulders and smooth velvet to her thin wrists with white piping at the hemlines and a peter pan collar for her neckline. A red ribbon was tied in her hair to keep her black curls from her face and simple black slippers rested on her feet. She had no jewelry, she wore nothing flashy or eye catching in particular, yet Adam could not take his eyes from her. His heart swelled in his chest and he took a step to approach her, but hid away in an aisle. He needed to catch his breath, he needed to clear his head, he needed his heart to silence itself, but he also needed confirmation for all of these feelings that would not stop within him.

* * *

Queen Grimhilde

She stood to the side of the curtain and watched the entertaining interaction between Prince Florian Ferdinand, Adam, and Snow White. Queen Grimhilde had gotten up early since she knew today would be the arrival of the prince. She had had Frederick camp out in the woods so he could come and tell her once he saw the carriages or horses or however the prince would decide to transport himself to Apfel. She was ever so surprised that he had arrived just a few minutes before nine and guessed that the prince would arrive before ten. It gave her both little time to prepare and all the time she needed to prepare her surprises.

She had the prince's room furnished with the second best quality items, she reserved the best for herself; had a small brunch feast prepared; she made sure the stables were bone free and had fresh hay and water in the stalls; and she made sure that she hired more staff to do extra cleaning for the next few weeks. She had had Frederick go hunting for game so she had her private supply of necessary ingredients for her youth tonics and potions as well as for her own special diet.

Snow White was taking much slower than she preferred in both her lessons and her sewing. She had decided to give the irritating girl some of her old dresses and gowns that she either no longer fit or no longer cared for. There was only one dress that despite her having outgrown it, she could not part with; it was the last gown her mother had made her. Much to her dismay Snow White was literally sewing everything by hand. Although she had anticipated it, she had also expected Snow White to actually use the sewing machine that she had sent the girl. Perhaps it was more advanced than she had realized. She shook the thought from her mind and re-averted her attention to the young trio.

Snow White was humming, whistling, and singing while she worked - much to Grimhilde's chagrin - and talked to the white birds that flocked around her. She frowned and really wished that she had her morning tea to get her through the girl's childish antics. She remained silent as she continued to watch and she finally saw that feather plume poke its gaudy head over the castle wall. He had to have been standing on the horse because as he came down on the other side of the wall he was terribly short. She let out a snort as she realized she was setting Snow White up with the potential short man. She watched as he came closer to her that he was almost as tall as Snow White; she was still taller than her. The singing continued and the prince managed to successfully surprise Snow White and surprised her too well and had her scurrying away.

A chuckle escaped her as she watched Snow White run away and the prince trying to continue to serenade her. He actually stood out there singing to her for several minutes.

"Something interesting happening outside, my Queen?" Frederick cleared his throat as he entered her chambers.

"Very." She chuckled again and looked to him. "Very interesting indeed."

"How so?" He joined her at the window to see that Prince Florian was outside the balcony singing. "Does he really think that's going to work?"

"It must be a strange custom in Franca." A bubble of laughter escaped her as she watched the poor fool singing and calling out to Snow White.

"Yuck, he's a tenor." Frederick turned his nose up and shook his head. "The kid won't have a good hobby if he keeps singing out of key like that."

"He's ghastly." She snickered like a school girl and rested her arm and head on Frederick's shoulder. "I do think that this is one of my best plans, Freddie." She laughed again, but Frederick did not laugh along side her as he continued to watch what was going on outside. She did not see the deep red Frederick's ears turned nor did she see the hopeful look in his eyes as he looked down at her.

The show continued as the prince was getting desperate of calling out to Snow White and Adam was the one that emerged from behind the door. She found this mini drama rather delicious as she watched Adam, seething in what she hoped to be jealousy, silently brood and storm his way across the yard to get the basket of laundry. The prince somehow noticed Adam and approached him. Adam made evident signs that he planned on ignoring the prince or even not acknowledging him, however, Prince Florian did not seem to get the hint. The look in Adam's face was getting dangerous.

"This is going to get ugly. . ." Frederick commented as he watched the two males.

"I certainly do hope so." She relished the idea of the two getting into a fight over Snow White. The possibility of seeing a death tickled her.

"Now, my Queen." Frederick carefully side stepped away from her and removed her head from his shoulder. "Do you really want the show to end so soon after such a short beginning? If we let Adam continue his way now there is too big a chance that he'll kill the prince and we'll have a war on our hands for the missing prince of Franca."

"Fine." She huffed and rolled her eyes. "If you must separate them, then do so; though I would certainly be entertained by a death. . . But you're right, it is too early for the show to end; it just started! I haven't even had my first audience with this Franca prince."

"Shall I bring him to the throne room?" Frederick asked.

"Yes, please do that." She chuckled and turned her attention back to the window. "I'll be there shortly."

"As you wish, my Queen." He bowed and dismissed himself to break up the little tiff between Adam and Florian. She desperately wished she could hear what they were saying because things seemed to keep getting heated between the two. Whatever Florian was saying to Adam was truly infuriating him because she watched the gloves on Adam's hands slowly melted away. He was soon reaching his hand out to the prince, as if to strangle him, when Frederick came to the rescue. He prevented any damages from happening and ever precured Adam with a second pair of gloves. She found it odd but had no complaint as he escorted the prince away from Adam. Adam escaped inside, more than likely to start his lessons with Snow White, and the Queen could not help but scheme up another idea that would cause the right amount of drama and entertainment for her.

"Time to see if this key fits his part." She cackled as she turned and made her way to the throne room to put her plan into action.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far!_

_The story is allowing me to finally write! Also, some things are finally working in my favor to allow me to get back to writing. I still have a very busy summer ahead of me as well as quite a few plans that I hope to put in motion as well._

_What are your thoughts so far? Do you like the characters? Is this story interesting enough? Do you think that Adam is going to get his Happy Ending, or will the Queen? What will her plot do to bring about some drama? Tell me what you think, please leave me a review!_

_Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	21. Chapter 21

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One

The entire time during the lessons Adam wanted to ask her about the names and the hearts and what her feelings were, but he somehow had managed to resist. He merely handed her the journal back, reminded her that she should take better care of her things, and just jumped into the lessons.

He noticed everything about her during this lesson. The determination in her eyes as she read, the concentration in her mouth when she read or she wrote her words, as well as her fidgets. She twisted her fingers when she recited the poetry or they reviewed what she read, whenever she was writing and she struggled her fourth finger on her right hand would tap. She was left handed so every now and again her elbow would fall off the table in the middle of her writing and she would make such a cute annoyed face. She did so well in distracting him from his anger and bloodlusts, but with every motion, every blink, every little thing that she did she only made his heart race more.

"Have you found it yet?" She asked as she closed her blue reader. Those doe brown eyes blinked in eagerness at him.

"Not quite, my dear Snow White." He couldn't help the smile that grew on his face. "Your requirements are rather difficult to meet, and with your reading progressing so well it has been rather difficult of a challenge."

"It doesn't have to be exactly everything." She blushed and looked guilty. "Just so long as it has a happy ending, I'll be happy."

"No, no, no, my dear." He shook his head. "Do not limit yourself to something you shall expect. If you always read the same things, or if you are guaranteed a happy ending, it will be difficult to enjoy. Always find a way to challenge yourself, especially in reading. The more that you read the more you learn."

"Oh, I could never imagine not reading anymore." She sighed and rested her pretty little head on her hands. "It is so nice, it is hard sometimes, but it is really enjoyable."

"That is so good to hear." He smiled and felt his face warm as their eyes met.

The soft click of the doors to the library caught both of their attention and they turned to see Frederick entering the library. He stood nervously and skimmed the room before he caught sight of both Adam and Snow White. He heaved a sigh and had an apprehensive look before he finally approached them. Snow White perked right up, as if she were seeing an old friend, but Adam could not help but feel wary of him. He looked nervous, as if he really wished he had not seen the two of them together.

"Frederick." Snow White smiled up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Princess." He gave her a warm smile. "I'm here to tell the two of you that Prince Florian has arrived, though I think you've already met him. The Queen has requested that you both be present in the throne room for a proper introduction.

"Oh my goodness." She blinked with wide eyes. "Then we shall have to go immediately! Oh, but the books -"

"I'll take care of the books." Adam reassured her. "You go on ahead, I'll clean up here."

"Thank you, Adam." She flushed a soft shade of pink before she pushed herself away from the table and walked out of the library. Both Adam and Frederick lingered at the table.

"Were you here to snitch to me, or about me?" Adam groaned as he stood.

"Lil' of both." He scratched the back of his head. "Hilde wanted me to confirm if you were teaching her. She's not exactly pleased about it, but since this prince is here she wants Snow White to be impressive, not embarrassing."

"You mean she wants to embarrass her herself." Adam snorted and crossed his arms.

"But I also came to tell you that she's up to something." He said in a hushed whisper. "She is very amused by the prince, but it is like a cat playing with its food sort of amusement. I don't expect she'll put up with him for long."

"I know I won't." Adam snarled. "I almost killed him this morning."

"I know, I almost let you." Frederick put his hands on his hips. "Despite how annoying he is, though, he is still a prince, he is relatively innocent, and Apfel doesn't really need a war right now."

"He had it coming. . ." Adam stacked the books and placed them back in their proper shelves. Frederick followed behind him.

"I'm not saying he didn't." He sighed. "I'm just saying, watch out how you interact with him. Right now you're entertaining Hilde, but as soon as she gets bored that's when things are going to get difficult."

"If she wants to pit this idiot against me, I will win." Adam determined as he turned to face Frederick. He was actually pleasantly surprised and relieved to actually have someone he could look in the eye. He'd been the tallest one for the longest time here that he almost forgot what it was like to look at someone on the same level rather than looking down at them because they were shorter than him.

"I don't doubt it." Frederick crossed his arms. "He's far too flashy for Snow White anyways; though if she would have met him first she might have liked him more. . ."

"What?"

"Look, the point is." Frederick shook his head. "You need to be very mindful of what's going on right now, especially around Hilde. She's putting on her greatest act of being a graceful queen, but that does not mean she will show mercy. If you're going to save Snow White, don't let her out of your sight."

With the warning being given, Frederick left Adam. Adam stood dumbfounded for a few moments. He had been so caught up in his emotions that he had completely forgotten his mission. Snow White was such a lovely distraction, and now that he was growing more and more aware of his feelings. . . Well, things were only getting more difficult; especially now that there was this prince that expected to get what he wanted. Adam was going to enjoy destroying that expectation and take what was his.

Not wanting to keep the Queen waiting or keep Snow White alone between the two for too long, Adam made his way down the long halls to the throne room. Much to the pain growing in his eardrums, he knew he was getting close because the damned prince decided to show off his 'skills' by singing again. He heaved a groan before entering the throne room and looked as disinterested and annoyed as possible as he ever so conveniently interrupted his singing. Much to his surprise he saw a small throne off to the left of the Queen in which Snow White sat and another medium sized chair off to the right of the Queen.

"Ah, Prince Adam." Queen Grimhilde looked ever so thankful for the interruption. "Thank you for coming!"

"But of course, my Queen." He bowed respectfully and with a smirk as he looked down at the prince and took his seat on the other side of the Queen. He sat in his chair with his legs crossed and his head resting on his fist in a demeanor that demanded that Prince Florian do his best to entertain him now. His face swelled up like a frog and Adam could not help but smirk.

"Prince Florian here was just singing for us." Queen Grimhilde spoke through gritted teeth. "He was showing us his . . .talents."

"Oh was he?" He continued to look down at Prince Florian. "Well don't stop on my account, I would love to hear your singing."

"W-With all do respect, your highness." Florian smiled nervously at Queen Grimhilde. "I do not think that I could continue by myself now. You see, I was ready to sing a plenty for you, but now that I have been interrupted I'm more nervous than I thought. . ."

"Does that mean you won't be continuing?" The Queen almost seemed hopeful that he would be done.

"Oh no, I would hate to disappoint you!" Adam had to put his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. He already had to suffer this morning and he couldn't help but be pleased that the Queen herself was to have her turn. "I was merely building up to my request."

"Request?" She cocked a thin eyebrow at him.

"I request that I have a partner." He held his hand out in the center, mostly aimed towards the Queen and Snow White. His eyes most definitely lingered over to Snow White who was looking for a way out of having to sing with him. Although he was amused at Queen Grimhilde's discomfort, he did want to give Florian too many opportunities of actually being next to Snow White if he could help it.

"Well, if you're that nervous. . ." Adam huffed as he stood up from his chair. "Then I shall partner with you."

He could hear Frederick laughing somewhere in the background, Snow White's mouth fell open, and Queen Grimhilde held the bridge of her nose as Florian blushed a deep shade of red. He by no means, nor Adam for that matter, ever expected to actually have Adam sing with him. Adam climbed down the small stairs and stood beside Florian who was growing more and more ashamed. Adam could not help but smirk at further embarrassing the foolish prince.

"No - I meant -" Florian tried to wiggle his way out of having Adam as a partner so he could have the sole spotlight, however even the Queen was growing more amused at this situation.

"Proceed." She waved her hand to silence the foolish prince and leaned on her hand to watch the show.

"So what are we singing?" Adam coughed and cleared his throat.

"U-U-m." Florian's voice cracked and he coughed to clear his throat. "Do you remember the song I was singing this morning?" His voice was more in a whisper now.

"The 'One Song'?" Adam asked mockingly polite at him.

"Y-yes. . ." He grimaced and put his head in his hands.

"Well, I hope that I am able to relieve you of your nervousness." Adam put his hand behind his back. "Shall you start, or shall I?"

"I t-think you should. . ." He began to glare at Adam.

"As you wish." Adam gave a shrug. He cleared his throat, closed his eyes, and held his arms out at his hips as the words rumbled from his singing pipes. His voice was as smooth as honey and as deep as Josh Turner as the words danced in a warm melody.

"One Song,

I have but one song

One song,

Only for you."

He wasn't sure how he knew the words, but they just flowed from him. It was as if somewhere deep down he was supposed to sing this song, even though it was something completely out of his comfort zone.

"One heart

Tenderly beating

Ever entreating

Constant and true."

He just allowed the melody to flow from him. He felt completely in his element and even enjoyed listening to himself sing, which caught him entirely by surprise. He found himself glancing over at Snow White and could not help but smile as he felt her eyes on him. Yes, he wanted her eyes on him not that fool who claimed to be a prince.

"One love

That has possessed me

One love

Thrilling me through"

When he finished he realized that Florian never and could not hide the smirk that stayed on his face, especially after everyone with a growing crowd began to applaud him for his work. He gave a small bow to his audience and could not help but feel a little pride swelling up in him, especially with the utter surprised look on Queen Grimhilde's face. The ever growing furious look on Florian's face as he realized that he had been outdone.

"Are you ready to join in now?" He looked casually over to Florian.

"It would appear as though you took the show away. . . " He watched as the prince fritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists.

"So you don't care to do a duet then?" He did not even bother to hide his smirk.

"Since you went into a solo I do not feel as though a duet would be necessary." Florian smiled through gritted teeth.

"I couldn't agree more." He then turned his back to Florian and returned to his throne.

When Adam returned to his seat the introductions were over, prince Florian continued to state his business about ensuring peace between the lands as well as seeing what sort of trade items were available. Queen Grimhilde explained that they were starting their Spring Festival this week and that he was welcome to stay and investigate and see what items he deemed worthy of trade.

"There is one other thing that I wish to discuss with you, your highness." He bent to one knee and shot a sneer at Adam before giving a nice respectful face to the Queen.

"And what would that be?" She tried to sound gracious, but Adam knew she was tired and beyond annoyed as of this point with the prince and was ready to go lurking off to her lair.

"As my messenger spoke to you last month." He stood and held his hat in his hand. "I am also here seeking the hand of the fair princess of Apfel."

"Yes, I do believe that I remember him saying that." She mused and cast a side glance at Adam. "Although you may wish for her hand, do you even know the name of the princess?"

Adam's hands balled into fists and he noticed that the Queen's nails were digging into the wood of her arm rests. Adam was bothered by the fact that this fool waltzed in here wanting Snow White's hand without knowing who she was and how much she was worth while Queen Grimhilde was bothered by the fact that this fool knew who Snow White was without knowing who she herself was.

"Princess Snow White." He smirked over at Adam. Adam could feel that lust for blood rebuilding yet again today. The lack of sleep was already enough to agitate him, but this prince was dancing too close to a deadly line.

"Do you hear that, Snow White?" She chuckled and glanced over to Snow White. "The prince of Franca knows who you are and wishes for your hand in marriage. What say you to all this?"

Adam sat on the other side of the Queen's throne so it was nearly impossible for him to see Snow White's face due to the positions of the chairs. The secondary chairs were seated just carefully enough where they could see their shoulders but not their faces if they leaned back, but if they leaned forward they would only see the Queen. Although Adam could not see Snow White's face he could see from her shoulders and the way that she sat in her chair that she was beyond anxious. She was already put into an uncomfortable position of having to listen to the fool's singing twice in one day, she had her first audience today, and now she actually had to respond to the fool's betrothal. There was something within Adam that made him want to kidnap Snow White and run from the room, but do to the number of witness in the throne room that would not be happening.

"I think. . ." Her voice was wobbly as she spoke and Adam knew she was fidgeting with her fingers. "I think it is far too soon to tell."

"I beg your pardon?" Florian gaped. Even the Queen seemed to be as surprised at her response.

"We only just met." Her voice quivered as she spoke. She was trying to re-still her resolve. "I don't know anything about you. How would I know if you would be a good husband after I just met you?"

"You want me to prove myself?" He blinked in utter surprise.

"I believe that it would be necessary." She gained her confidence as she spoke. "Although you are a prince and we perchance met when we were children, as you explained, you can't just expect me to allow you to sweep me off my feet. Although you do have a nice singing voice, it is not a way to sway me to simply agree to marry you."

The room grew quiet at her astute response to the prince's proposal. Everyone almost seemed more horrified rather than surprised that she practically rejected him while still giving him the hopes of winning her hand so long as he could prove himself. Adam couldn't be more proud.

"I couldn't agree more." Adam shifted in his seat and looked at the Queen. "It is not suitable for some stranger to waltz in here demanding a proposal request. Especially since it would appear that he really doesn't have anything to offer. " Although his face was aimed towards the Queen, his sneer was aimed towards Florian.

"Well, since Prince Florian shall be staying with us for the Spring festival." The Queen spoke through a tight smile. "For now, how about Snow White give you a tour of the castle? Surely she can help you get used to your surroundings during your stay."

"I would enjoy that!" Like a puppy, his hope was instantly restored.

"Yes, well, I shall have my first knight Frederick be your chaperone." She smiled and the hope within Florian almost seemed to go out. Frederick appeared from the doors behind the thrones and stood at the right hand side of Queen Grimhilde. Adam had not realized that he was actually a knight. He was wearing a full suit of silver armor. It had dents and a few patches welded in certain spots on the chest and there were two crests resting on the emblems. A red apple with a gold trim represented Apfel and a black raven feather stabbed into a skull represented Hassige Magie.

"You are acquainted with Frederick?" Queen Grimhilde smiled politely. Though it was polite, Adam knew that there was something more underneath it. The fact that she was having Frederick escort them meant that she wanted to talk to him; he could only assume that it would be a discussion of future plans.

"Y-Yes." Florian gulped as he nervously looked up at Frederick.

"Good, then that makes things easier." Queen Grimhilde clapped her hands together. "Snow White, make sure you give him a nice tour."

"Yes ma'am," Snow White stood and went over to Frederick who she linked arms with to be escorted.

"Then let us begin the tour." Frederick called as he and Snow White turned to leave the room.

The three of them left the room and as soon as they and the staff were dismissed, Queen Grimhilde turned to Adam. She had the oddest amused face that wanted to make several inquiries, but she merely stared at him as if expecting him to be able to read her mind.

"I assume that you have something that you want to discuss?" Adam sighed and looked at her expectantly.

"I don't know whether to be proud of you that you managed to embarrass and shut that fool up or to be furious with you." She admitted and crossed her arms. "If I knew you could sing I would have had you get up in that before he ever tried to entertain me."

"At least you didn't have to listen to it this morning." Adam groaned and rubbed his temple. "He is possibly the biggest idiot I have ever met. And that is really saying something given the people I know . . ." Several of the Recruits who he deemed as immature or annoying ranked just barely higher than the foolish prince.

"Oh, trust me, I heard him." She chuckled and slouched in her throne. "He has done little to nothing to actually entertain me other than creating some sort of competition to you."

"He was never a competitor." He snorted. "We both know that he made it this far only because his father had to set something up."

"Besides the point," She rolled her eyes and stood. "He is here and so long as he impresses Snow White, now that she has suddenly discovered that she has value, all I need him to do is make the girl fall in love with him and get her the hell out of here."

"Even if that is the reason," He sneered. "Surely you could find someone else other than that fool."

"Well I thought you were capable of killing her or removing her from my presence, yet you seem to be obstinately procrastinating on doing the job in which you told me you could do!" She flared.

"She has yet to give me a reason to actually kill her." He said coolly. "Despite my teachings and upbringing the one thing you could not get rid of from me was the consciousness of killing the innocent. Snow White is the most innocent person I have met and she does not deserve the death that you keep insisting upon!"

"So you finally admit to being the traitor I have suspected all along!" She burst out into an odd fit of laughter. "I knew it! I knew it was too good to be true!"

"He is not a traitor." The Mirror's voice droned from the Queen's pocket. Her green eyes widened and her nose flared as she reached her hand inside her robes and pulled out a small handheld compact. The Mirror's mask face appeared on the small handheld compact and Adam immediately began to grit his teeth. He simply could not get rid of the infernal Mirror. . .

"You say he is not a traitor, yet he just admitted to it!" She hissed to the Mirror.

"He is not a traitor." The Mirror argued. "He is the key to the plan, the Happy Ending, and to ultimately free all of us from the shackles of doom. He has not killed Snow White yet because the time has yet to come! She has yet to betray him."

"A betrayal, you say?" She mused in disbelief. She cocked her eyebrow at the Mirror and turned her seething gaze to Adam who was beyond disinterested and overly infuriated with this conversation. "So are you to tell me that I don't have to give up my hopes of this boy actually killing Snow White?"

"He will get rid of her from your life when the timing is right, and not in the way that you expect." The Mirror confirmed in the most ambiguous way. As Adam listened he could not believe everything that the Mirror was saying.

If the Mirror ever spoke of anything that would happen in the future, it would no longer be in existence. The fact that the Mirror spoke of the future with such determination Adam was worried that the future would actually come true. He would never, at least his heart pounded in his chest that this was so, kill Snow White; she's proven she is too innocent. He would easily kill Florian if he dared to raise a hand at Snow White or touch her at all; even if Snow White merely asked him to get rid of Florian he would without question.

"Very well." She huffed and closed the compact mirror and tucked it away within the pockets inside her robe. "The Mirror claims that you are not a traitor. . . You should consider yourself very lucky at that."

"Only so many would actually claim that to be lucky. . ." He shook his head and crossed his arms at her. "I would enjoy nothing more than shattering that Mirror into a thousand pieces."

"Watch what you say, you bastard." She grabbed a fist of his coat and glared poisonous hatred at him. "Even wishing for thoughts such as that is enough to make them a reality. No one dares to wish themselves seven years of bad luck!"

If only she knew the true horrors of them like he did. . . He was overtly aware of the cost and how painful the consequences were, and he still found them to be very worth the cost.

"I don't know how you turned out this way." She spoke with such disdain in her voice. "I cannot believe that I would have raised you to be so heart driven."

"Heart driven?" He snorted.

"It does not matter." She rolled her eyes and waved her hand to dismiss the end of that conversation. "The future will reveal itself to us sooner or later. At this point in time, I will inform you that we will be going on a private picnic with Prince Florian this afternoon. And although it is entertaining to watch you antagonize him, I need you to attempt to be on your best behavior."

"I will not make a promise I cannot keep." He growled with a glare at her. "If the fool decides to act his part I shall act upon my own."

"I assumed as much."" She tisked and rolled her eyes. "Just don't kill him until it is time for his departure."

"I will try." He snorted. With nothing else to say she turned on her heel and dramatically left the room.

Adam stood in the throne room and waited until the click clacking of her heels went away. He was still processing the future that the Mirror predicted and could only hope that the Mirror was being truthful in his prediction. He could have very well said what he said to placate the Queen, but it also seemed to be a way of reassuring Adam. If the Mirror said that he would kill Snow White, then that would mean that Adam would not; unless it was a lie then he had no idea what to believe.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far!_

_I just want to say a special thank you to those who have been reviewing my story. It means so much to me and it gives me more confidence in this story. I know as of late that I have been updating much slower than I normally would. I've made a lot of progress on my house and will slowly but surely be moving furniture into it soon, and I am finally no longer unemployed! I'm writing my stories when I can and updating them after I go through and read my material._

_Please bare with me as I am (from other fanfic sites that I have looked at) the first one to really be writing the Recruiter stories in English. The only connection that I have to this series is Pinterest and what my friends from Japan who have actually been to and seen the shows tell me of their personalities, quirks, and their unique qualities. This story as well as my others have been written in my perspective and will be written more so from my taste._

_I have had several of you lovely readers mention that I should possibly change the rating of my stories, I would just like to inform you all that I will not be changing the ratings any time soon. I like the gradual build up in my stories and the following tension as the story progresses. Also, my own moral and personal opinions on the ratings are different from others which only further pushes me to leave the ratings where they stand._

_I do take most of the suggestions into consideration and try to add them to my story, however since I am the author of this story and my other stories, I am writing it for your viewing pleasure through the liberty of . If there is something that you want to read that I have not written or added to my own stories, please feel free to write your own stories through your own perspective and help the Recruiter Community grow. Please continue to send me your reviews, comments, and messages with suggestions and feedback, they are often times helpful and assure me that I am on the right track._

_Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_

_PS. If you see that I have updated previous chapters in both this story as well as my other stories it is because I am adding my ko-fi handle signature to earlier chapters._


	22. Chapter 22

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two

He ran a hand through his hair and heaved a sigh. His head ached as he tried to process all of this and he felt terribly exhausted. The lack of sleep had finally caught up with him and although the bloodlust was gone, he needed to get some sleep before he passed out or committed a murder, or both. His next question was where should he nap? If he went upstairs to the West wing he could go to his private room, but be entirely uncomfortable because of the mirrors, or he could walk into to an to his private house and sleep there but deal with the possibility of missing out on the picnic.

As he stood debating on where to go, Frederick walked into the throne room.

"You look like a walking dead man, Prince Adam." He put his hands on his hips and looked Adam up an down. "You should have tried to sleep. You didn't have to keep watch all night."

"You'll have to forgive me," He glared and held his head as the ache turned into a pounding. "I'm not used to being around others at night, and I don't exactly trust the darkness of night either. The shadows within the darkness have a way of being dangerous. . . Especially at night. What are you even doing in here anyways? I thought you were escorting Snow White while she had to give the fool a tour."

"That seems to be a rather problematic predicament that makes me very curious, but since we don't have a lot of time, I'll have to ask about that another day." Frederick raised his eyebrow. "And for your information she asked me to escort her to her room so that she could freshen up for the picnic outing the Queen has planned for this afternoon. Which speaking of which, you better get ready for a picnic."

"I thought that the picnic is in a few hours?" His brows furrowed and the headache simply would not let up.

"Time flies when you're busy, Prince Adam." Frederick smirked.

"Stop that." Adam growled and the embers of the blood lust flaked back up. "Do. Not. Call. Me. Prince."

"For the sake of formalities and the sake of keeping appearances I shall refer to you as 'prince' until Florian is gone." Frederick spoke with finality. His look of determination was enough of a challenge to Adam, and Adam was up for the challenge for his lack of sleep.

Adam knew better than to really engage in a fight, which was what he was most in the mood for, simply because it would cause a scene and it would get messy; not to mention he did not want to actually harm Frederick. He grunted in frustration and raked his hand through his hair. All of his hair stood on end and he found it a tad difficult to actually keep the toxicity of his poison levels in check.

"If you're lucky you might just be able to sleep in the carriage." Frederick suggested with a shrug. "You at least need to change your suitcoat before we leave."

"I shall not." He growled and crossed his arms. His hands gripped the bend of his elbow tightly to keep him from actin gout. He only hoped he could actually sleep on the way there.

"So you're childishly when you're sleepy." Frederick snorted with a smirk. "Such a royal characteristic of you."

"I assume you had a reason of coming and talking to me?" He glowered.

"Just to tell you to get ready and inform you that we would be leaving in an hour." He had a knowing smirk on his face. "Make sure you're out front by then."

He turned on his heel and left the throne room. Adam could only glare at the back of his head, but he could not actually stay angry with Frederick. Frederick, even in his youth, was honest, blunt, and overly reliable, his character was outstanding and Adam was aware that Frederick was his only potential ally.

As much as he wanted to sleep there would have been no point in trying to squeeze a nap in if he was going to have to be awake soon after. He would, much to his chagrin, have to stay the day and or night after the picnic. He rubbed his face, hoping it would rub the sleep away, but it only made it worse. With a grimace for feeling extra fatigued now he pushed himself forward and made his way to the front gates. Hopefully there would be a tree with enough shade he could rest under before they departed.

He walked down the long halls and he hardly noticed the bustling servants as they made arrangements for Prince Florian's stay as well as packing and preparing overly extravagant picnic, Queen Grimhilde's doing no doubt. He made it all the way to the foyer until the voice of his every growing least favorite person spoke.

"That is a lovely dress on you, Snow White." Florian gushed as he walked much too closely to Adam's liking. He was overly friendly and had the gall to say her name so casually as if they were long life friends. Whether Florian actually realized that Snow White was the scullery maid or not, Adam could not forgive him for calling the fair Snow White a creature. "That yellow is absolutely lovely!"

"Thank you Prince Florian." She bubbled with laughter.

Adam turned his gaze upon Snow White as she walked. She wore a soft yellow dress with puffed quarter sleeves and a skirt of delicate organza that was the color of morning light, just when the sunrise's beams touched the earth and a white shawl of the most detailed lace it could have been made by spiders. Her shoes were a soft brown that had ribbons wrapped around her tiny ankles. She had a ribbon as red as garnet tying back her curls and he found that he secretly loved the deeper colors on her, the red in her hair drew his attention to her red lips. Those red lips were upturned in a polite smile as she spoke with Florian, polite but not comfortable.

As if she knew his eyes were on her, those doe brown eyes turned and looked to him. She was a vision of the early morning sun on a beautiful spring day. She smiled brightly and honestly at him as she quickened her pace to him and away from Florian. The blood lust dissipated, the fatigue was replaced by a second wind, and the smile on his face was honest and true as he met her halfway. The lack of sleep had gotten to him more than he had realized because he had let one too many walls down that he normally would have felt comfortable with. But she was coming to him, there were less things to worry about when she was around; even if Florian was close behind and approaching.

"There you are!" She beamed up at him. "I was wondering where you had gotten off to. I went back to the throne room, but I didn't see you. . ."

"You must have missed me when I made my way here." He smiled down at her.

"Oh." She blinked as she looked up into his face. "Adam, are you all right?"

"I'm fine." He felt warm and his heart ached instead of his head now.

"Are you sure?" Worry creased her forehead and she took a step closer to him. "You have dark circles under your eyes."

"Just a rough night." He glanced away and saw that Florian was standing too close to them. He made no remark of his presence and kept his attention solely on Snow White.

"Are you having problems sleeping?" She rushed and grabbed the cuff of his sleeve. "If you are, I have a wonderful tea that could help. I also have a soft pillow you could borrow if you need it -"

"My dear Snow White," He spoke softly to her and making sure that he looked into her eyes as he spoke to her. "I promise that I am fine. I will admit that I am a little tired, but I a fine."

Those doe brown eyes searched his black ones as if needing another confirmation that he was being honest. He did not remove his gaze from her. Although she did not seem particularly happy with his fatigued state, she finally released her breath and relaxed but she didn't remove her hand from the cuff of his sleeve.

"I believe you." She didn't break eye contact with him. "I just wanted to help. . ."

"I know."

"If there is anything that I can do to help -" Florian cut in with an overly anxious grin. "Please, Adam, just let me know."

Despite the fact that Snow White was in his presence, Florian was an impending force to any sort of peace he would have. Even though the Queen had told him to behave, and only for Snow White's sake would he, he was overtly aware that Florian was going to make this day even more difficult than it already was.

"How kind of you, Prince Florian." Snow White smile at him as she looked back at him.

"But of course." He smiled at her. "Anything for a fellow royal. I must say that I am looking forward to this picnic, I do believe that it will be lovely day out. And I know that that hat will look simply splendid on you, Snow White."

Adam felt his eye twitch as Florian continued to act so informal with Snow White, but instead of glaring at him where Snow White could see he looked down at her delicate hands and saw that she had two hats in her hands. He had been to distracted by her red lips before to notice them. She had a wide rimmed woven wicker hat with a red ribbon laced through it to keep it on her head. The other hat that she had was a deep blue wide rimmed hat with a matching red band.

"Two hats?" He looked from her hands to her eyes.

"O-o-oh." She cleared her throat as she flushed a soft pink. "I-I brought you this one. . . I know you don't really have hats with you s-so I made this one for you. I know you get hot easily in the sun so. . ." She looked down and he could see her ears turning a deeper pink. She stuck out her hand and hand him his hat.

"Thank you." He took it from her ever so carefully, as if it were made of glass and not the soft suede he held in his gloved hands. To prove to her that he really lied it, he immediately placed it on his head. It was a wide rimmed flat top that was slightly snug, but fitted him nonetheless. "This is the best present I have ever received."

It was really the only present he had ever received, but still the best one that he has ever owned. She looked up at him with wishful and hopeful eyes when Florian cleared his throat. They both turned and looked at him and much to Adam's pleasure he could see that Florian did not like to be ignored; Adam could only smirk in response.

"We shouldn't keep the Queen waiting." Florian plastered a quick smile on his face. "From what I hear she has quite the temper."

"And from whom do you hear this?" Snow White turned and looked at him. There was a crease in her brow and she looked rather hurt from her evil step mother.

"Well, everyone, really." He gave a shrug. "Between my messenger and a few villagers, I've heard quite a few things. I'm sure that Adam here can attest to it since he is her nephew."

"Gossip is not a good characteristic to have, Prince Florian." She frowned. "Rumors and gossip are not kind things to spread, no matter how true they may be. . ." She hugged herself and looked very disappointed with Florian.

"Forgive me, Snow White." He bent to one knee. "I was merely jesting, joking, to lighten the atmosphere, even to get a laugh out of you."

"I did not find it amusing." She looked away from him and side stepped closer to Adam but did not reach out to him.

"I sincerely apologize, Snow White." Florian continued rather dramatically. "Can you forgive me?"

She looked to Adam, those doe brown eyes asking him what she should do. He knew that she would never truly be able to forgive herself if she didn't forgive Florian. She was far too ready to forgive the Queen, even after all the literal hell the old hag has put her through, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she could forgive the most evil woman in all of Apfel and not Florian. As much as he wanted to tell her no for his own sake, he gave her a reassuring nod that she should. She flushed with a happy smile before turning back to Florian.

"I suppose I can forgive you." She placed her hat on her head and tied the red ribbon under her chin; that only drew Adam to those red lips even more.

"Oh thank you, Snow White!" He beamed and stood up with his arms out held to her.

"However," She stood straighter as she looked at Florian. "I must ask that you not speak ill of my mother, no matter if it is serious or in a joking matter. It is not proper and it is certainly not kind."

"As you wish," Florian took off his hat and dropped to one knee. He took her hand and placed a kiss on it. She said nothing and even had a small blush creep on her face as Florian's lips were pressed to her second knuckle. The smile that was on Adam's face fell and although he was not surprised by Florian's actions, he was much more surprised by Snow White's. She was always friendly, she had no problem making physical contact with others so casually even, but Adam could not help but be aware that Florian was going to be a challenging fool. Adam was not aware of the customs in Franca, but at this particular moment he loathed them; especially since he could ever so casually touch her skin and not have to worry about toxicity.

Adam's hands balled into fists and he wanted nothing more than to snatch Snow White away and just take her as far away from Florian as possible. His heart ached and his headache was soon returning. He grit his teeth as he took in the entire demonstration of this Franca physical display of affection knowing that full well he could never do something without killing her.

"I thank you, Snow White." Florian smiled at Snow White and held his arm out to her. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, we shall." She nodded her head with a small smile and she shyly took his elbow. They walked past Adam and did not so much as cast him a glance as they proceeded to the carriages.

Something within Adam spiked worse than his usual bloodlust. Whatever hate he already felt for Florian had made him loath him entirely. As if the fool was not irritating enough as it was, Florian had an obnoxious way of showing he could touch Snow White. Adam was aware that he could not touch others unless it was necessary to kill, but he was especially aware that unless he somehow lost his natural musk of poison on his skin he would never be able to touch Snow White as affectionately as he kept displaying. Although Adam knew that he would best Florian in almost every act of the role of the gentleman and prince, Florian would best Adam simply by being able to touch Snow White. Adam did not like that. No he did not like that at all.

"Prince Adam?" Frederick called from behind him. He jumped and turned to Frederick. "Are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine." He cleared his throat and readjusted the hat on his head. With the hat properly on his head he turned his face downcast to hide whatever face he was making.

"Are you sure?" Frederick placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to get a better look at him. "You're looking worse than before."

"Just need sleep." He pushed Frederick away and made his way to the carriage.

As Frederick and Adam approached the carriage to join the others, Queen Grimhilde was already within the carriage while Snow White and Florian were in a jubilant conversation. Whatever he was telling her, Florian was able to make her laugh. Her melodious laugh touched his heart as well as pricked it. The aching in his heart worsened while his headache had officially turned into a migraine. He was ever so thankful that he had the hat to cover his face to and to provide him with some shade from the bright sun.

Doing his best to ignore the growing familiarity between Florian and Snow White, Adam stepped into the carriage and fell back against the seat. He went in and rested on the left side of the carriage, and as he sat still the lack of sleep had caught up with him and he quickly passed out.

* * *

Queen Grimhilde

After dismissing Adam and telling him that he would behave with Florian, Grimhilde returned to her room. She would change into a few shades lighter from her usual wardrobe so as not to draw too much of the sun's heat to herself; she would most definitely be bringing a parasol to sit under so as to ensure her white complexion will remain as clear as possible.

As she changed from her usual amethyst purple gown, she would change to a lighter one and would replace her black head cap with a gray one. As she changed her mind could not help but wander off to the possible ways of killing Snow White and possibly even that Prince Florian. Although she was aware that killing the prince would start a likely war, it was very tempting. Killing Snow White would almost be too easy. They would be high in the mountains, there would be a possible game, and should she command it she would have Frederick make the move since Adam has proven to be too weak.

Yes, Adam. Although the Mirror has claimed that he is not a traitor there was something about the entire situation that begged to differ. For a man that was both lethal and dangerous he was overly aware o preserving the innocent. She could not believe that he was supposed to be her creation, she never would have raised him to be that soft nor weak. She took a deep inhale through he nose and her nostrils flared. His only redeeming quality other than his toxic skin was the fact that he permanently got rid of her lackeys Jack and Jo. They had only ever been useful but the one time and were terrible bingers, moochers, and overall bums that threw their weight around using her name carelessly to get away with stealing alcohol from the pubs, raping women in the streets, and killing men whenever they felt like it. She had planned on dismissing them anyways, but he only sped up the process.

"He can kill two simpletons for following him around in the shadows of the alleys, but he could not bring himself to kill Snow White." She huffed and crossed her arms. Although he had not spoken outright about his feelings Queen Grimhilde was aware that he had a growing interest in her that was obviously preventing him from killing her like he was supposed to. "It's disgusting." She turned her nose up at the thought.

"What is disgusting, My Queen?" Frederick asked from the doorway. She turned with a smirk.

"I thought you were giving a tour?" She cocked a thin eyebrow at him.

"I was escorting Snow White while she gave Florian the tour." He casually walked closer to her. "She's in her room primping, and It would appear that you are as well. Going for that light purple?"

"Dark colors draw the sun." She answers snippily as she pulled on the gray head cap. "I don't want to ruin my smooth skin."

"Do you have to wear that?" He pointed to her head cap. "Your hair is too beautiful to be hidden away in that cap."

"Flattery is not enough to keep me from wearing it, Freddie." She chuckled at him. "Is there something that you need?"

"In an odd sorts of way, yes." He nodded his head and spoke bluntly with her. He was the only man and living soul in the whole Realm that would even remotely get away with that. She loved and respected that about him, but she would never let him know that because she would show no weakness.

"Well, spit it out." She crossed her arms at him.

"I'm aware that you told Adam to be on his best behavior because of Florian." those green eyes stared down into her own, almost challenging.

"And this is your concern why?"

"Because if he has to behave so do you." He smirked down at her.

"You do not get to tell me what I will and will not do." She flustered. "I am the queen!"

"Oh, I'm very aware of your title and position in this society, Hilde." His voice dropped an octave and there was a stirring in both her heart and her abdomen. "That does not excuse you from looking out to cause mischief."

"Mischief?" She raised her eyebrow again and this time her lip curled up in a sneer. "What sort of mischief are you already pinning on me?"

"I know you too well, Hilde." He stepped closer and she refused to move. She was a queen, she would not be pushed aside or moved no matter how hard her heart beat in her chest. "I know you're in here scheming."

"How dare you!" She pulled her hand back to slap him, but in the midst of the strike, he caught her wrist.

"I will always dare to protect you." He said as his hand encompassed her entire wrist. "Even if it is from yourself. We are going to have a nice picnic with the Prince Florian and Adam and Snow White; even if that means I have to babysit you to keep you from doing anything along the way."

Her wrist burned and tingled from where he held it, and were she not so caught up in his green eyes she would have thrown her other wrist at him; though she knew fully well that he would have caught it and held it in the same position.

"Release me, Frederick." She said coolly. He released her immediately and took a step back. She frowned that he stepped further from him, but refrained from letting that show and chose to stay angry.

"I take it you're going to behave?" He smirked at her.

"So long as you refrain from touching me." She growled. He only chuckled at her before back stepping and exiting the room.

"I'll wait until you finish so that we can walk over to the carriage together." He waved his hand over his head and exited her room.

Her ridiculous heart pounded in her heart and she hated that he had touched her wrist. It wasn't painful, but there was such a tenderness in it that it burned her. Any time he touched her it reminded her what a pulse felt like. She was sure her heart would burst from the way it was currently pounding. She hated that. He was her weakness and she knew it. Despite the many dangerous missions that she had purposely sent him on in hopes of killing him, he always came back to her. She both loved and hated that about him. She had wanted him dead a long time ago so that she would no longer have to hold back from the darkness that called to her, but he always found some way of making it back and keeping her at bay. He had proven that he was far too difficult to kill and she was aware that should it ever some to it, she would have to kill him with her own hands.

She froze at the thought. She would do it if it meant keeping her beauty and gaining more power; but she did not want to. No matter how dangerous of a mission she sent him on, she always secretly hoped deep within her heart that he would make it back while still wishing that she could simply put him out of his loyal misery to her by removing his existence from her life. He held her back, but kept her safe.

She shook her head. She could not allow herself to continue to think of these things, the more she thought the weaker she became. She had too much light in her. . . She needed the darkness. She walked to the giant velvet curtains that hung above the entry way to the balcony and closed them tight. The room grew dark even though there were a few lighted candles to provide growing shadows. She stood in the center of the room and held her arms out.

"Shadows, come to me." The shadows in the room morphed and bent and gained faces. They twitched and flicked in the candles shadows, but said nothing. "Hello my little creatures." She chuckled and looked around the room. "I have a rather big task for you today. I need you and your brethren to go into the Dark Forest and find a bear. I'll be bringing Snow White to the meadows just outside the Dark Forest, she'll probably go looking for flowers or something. See what kind of fun you can have then."

The shadows bobbed back and forth in excitement and shot out of her room off to the Dark Forest where the Shadows ruled. A wide malicious grin spread on her face as she pulled open the curtains again before joining Frederick out in the hall. He stood expectantly and had this accusing look on his face as though he knew she were up to something but had yet to pinpoint what it was.

"Are you ready?" He asked and tried peeking into her room, still trying to see what it was that she was up to.

"I am." She gave him a smile and he narrowed his eyes. She said nothing and merely took his arm for him to escort her out to the carriage.

Nothing was said between them as they made their way to the carriage. Much to her delight, she was the first one there and would claim her seat. Frederick stood just outside and kept scanning the area, looking for whatever she had done.

"I don't know what you've set up, Hilde." He spoke in a low disappointed voice. "But I'm ready for whatever you want to throw at me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She snickered.

"I felt the darkness from within your room, Hilde." He kept his back to her. "I know you're up to something. . .I'm just really not in the mood to be dealing with that kind of bullshit today."

With a sigh he pushed himself from the carriage and returned somewhere in the castle. She settled into her seat and not long after Prince Florian escorting Snow White quickly arrived. The two giggle and spoke of the interesting things in Franca and Apfel and Queen Grimhilde could only roll her eyes. Florian was an obnoxious flirt and Snow White was so gullible to believe whatever boastings he provided for her. He claimed to have battled a behemoth, slain a dragon, and even countered a giant serpent in some magical lake in Franca. Snow White was eating it up. The Queen could only roll her eyes so much before they would get stuck in the back of her head. If this prince really did as he said he has, there would have been much more news to have reached Apfel and she would not have allowed him into her kingdom. If he had really done what he had said he had, he would have been aware of the darkness that lied within her.

She grew bored quickly of their over giddy conversation and was relieved to see Adam emerge from the castle. Frederick was trailing not too far behind him. Adam looked as though some sort of darkness that was buried within him was ready to burst at the seams. He had dark circles under his eyes, more than likely from lack of sleep, and had a dangerous aura around him. She couldn't quite place why he was like that, but she relished in his terrible mood. Perhaps with this dark streak in him he'd be one step closer to finally killing Snow White.

He climbed into the carriage and fell back against the window once he claimed his window seat. He crossed his arms and legs and fell asleep almost instantly. She sent a glance to Snow White to see that she was looking at Adam, almost upset that he had not cast her glance before stepping into the carriage.

"Come, Snow White." Florian cooed. "Let us join them or else we might get left behind.

"Yes, please do." Queen Grimhilde called out. "Snow White, dear, please come and sit beside me."

She smiled as she watched Snow White's face pucker as if she had swallowed a grape. She could still see the tinges of distrust and fear in her eyes, but she nonetheless nodded her head and entered the carriage. Florian sat across from her and beside Adam. Frederick closed the door and hopped onto the back and with a hard lurch, the carriage took off. As soon as the carriage moved, Florian practically began to bounce in his seat like a schoolboy.

"Oh, I'm so excited to see Apfel!" He bubbled. "I can't wait to try the food, to see the people, to see the countryside! I can't wait to experience the Apfel experience."

Queen Grimhilde had a tight smile as she realized that this was going to be a long ride. Snow White was naïve enough to actually engage him in conversation and kept him talking. He simply would not shut up and had no problem keeping the conversation going. She could not wait until they finally got into town so she and Snow White could make a quick stop to look at fabrics for whatever dress she had planned on making. She especially could not wait to see how the day's events would unfurl.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far!

I don't really have much to say this time with this update, but I want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this story so far. I wasn't sure how far I could take this story, and if you've riding this roller coaster with me up to now, well, get ready because things are about to get rolling.

Please leave me a review and tell me your thoughts, let me know how I'm doing.

Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.


	23. Chapter 23

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

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Chapter Twenty-Three

The moment the carriage lurched forward, Adam woke up. The carriage rattled and shook as it went over the cobblestones in the road and Adam was hardly able to get any rest. Though he kept his eyes and did his best to remain still, he could not go back to sleep. All the while of trying to continue his sleeping, Snow White and Florian continued to rattle off the things that they saw. The people and the positions that they held in society and in their jobs; who she associated herself with that she called friends or acquaintances; and some of her favorite things about Apfel. Although she was talking directly to Florian, Adam was mentally writing everything down. None of this came as a surprise to him as for everyday for the last month he had been able to be with her and learn more things about her than what she directly told him.

She loved how the city was painted in colors with the morning sun; how the city came to life as soon as the baker started baking his bread; how the fruits were the freshest she'd tasted, the cheeses the creamiest, and the tarts were the flakiest in all the Realm. She told him of how much she loved this town, how sweet the people were, who they were, the number of kids each family had – Everything that she had to say only further proved how much she loved Apfel and the inhabitants within; and she hadn't even started on the animals yet.

As he sat there still pretending and attempting to be asleep, he realized that he had been in the Apfel Realm for a month. A month. He was only supposed to have been here a few weeks, no just a week! But he simply could not bring himself to kill her. Although the fool that rambled beside him danced the fine line of Adam's anger and blood lust, Adam refused to allow the fool to rattle him too much for Snow White's sake. She would have a very hard time forgiving him if he were to engage in a physical fight over a battle of wits; which that could be just as embarrassing and insulting for him.

"What's this that is going on up ahead?" Florian asked nearly sticking his head out of the window to see what was ahead.

"That would be our first stop." Queen Grimhilde spoke far too chipper. Adam knew that he was irritated by Florian's presence, but he also knew that the old hag was internally screaming because Florian would not shut up. He almost respected the way she was able to contain and keep everything quiet for the few minutes of a ride.

"It is the merchants that have come for the festival." Snow White answered. "Many of them bring exotic animals, items, and fabrics, yes they're all very wonderful –"

"Animals, you say?" Florian interrupted, eyes sparkling as he liked the idea of getting a new pet. "I must have one to add to my collection!"

"Collection?" Snow White's smile faltered and her brow creased.

"Oh yes, I have quite the collection." Florian gushed. "I have quite the many a pet over the years, and once they get too old and die, or cease to entertain me I have them stuffed and preserved for all time!"

"Stuffed?" She gulped and Adam opened his eyes. He did not have to open his eyes to know what face she was making. Those innocent brown eyes were wide, her lips were rolled in to keep her from either crying or speaking out, and her hands would have been balled up into little fists in her lap. She was horrified. Adam was furious and wanted to pick that battle wits sooner. . .

"Oh yes." He smiled brightly as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I even stuff the game from my hunts if they haven't already been made into fur rugs or hats!"

"A fur rug?" Queen Grimhilde seemed more interested in this topic. "Any bears per chance?"

"Bears, lions, you know some of the wilder beasts from our mountain trips." He listed the animals off his fingers. "We have plenty of fox furs for scarves, rabbit furs for the lining of boots – "

"We're here!" Snow White burst as the carriage lurched to a stop. She practically flew out of the window she was so desperate to get out of the carriage. Adam watched as she ran to the front of the carriage and immediately went to the horses and pet them.

"Well she certainly seems excited." Florian blinked in surprise. "There must be something rare that she wants here."

"Well, she and I are here to look at some of the fabric and sewing materials." Queen Grimhilde sat up primly. "Since she has come of age, she must make her own dress to prove her work."

"She sews?" He frowned distastefully. "Must all women sew?"

"But of course." She frowned at him. "How else are women supposed to pass the time once we've finished our lessons?"

"She has lessons?" Florian snorted.

"In reading, writing, arithmetic, and even science." Adam perked up and glared at Florian.

"Oh, what are you her teacher?" Florian jeered at him.

"Yes, I am." Adam sat up straighter and his glare intensified. "And she is a marvelous student who would outwit you in anything that required using your brain to think."

"Oh please, you and I both know that a learned woman in our world is a waste." Florian snorted and stretched. "Once you know that a woman can think, they lose value."

"You will take that back that statement this instant." Adam growled, his anger already being fueled by stupidity. "For a fool as yourself speaking you have no right to degrade a woman by the fact that she has worth because she can think for herself. Having an education is her best opportunity in life."

"If women didn't read we'd have to listen blindly to our husbands." Queen Grimhilde quipped. "Do you think I would be running this kingdom had I not had an education?" She raised a thin eyebrow at Florian, and Adam enjoyed watching the fool sweat.

"Well-l-l, if you weren't obviously so capable of ruling you should have r-re-married." Florian stammered.

"How dark age of you to think." She frowned and turned her nose up at him. "You make me question my choice in a suitor." With that she took her leave from the carriage and proceeded to walk along the streets to look at the different merchant's wares.

"She can't have meant that." He scoffed in utter disbelief. "I am the most suitable suitor that has entered Apfel."

"You would think that." Adam growled with an eye roll. "You won't be winning her hand talking like that, and especially not any time soon."

"I don't know what you think you're talking about." Florian snorted. "If I want something, I always get it, whether it be a prince, princess, or scullery maid."

"And that is what makes you lower than most scum." Adam's anger only continued to rise. "And I would know."

"What, are you the hero that's supposed to take out trash like me?" Florian sneered. "You may be a prince in name alone, but you're obviously too new to the world of courting if you think I'm just going to let you waltz away with my prize. She's just gullible enough that I can –"

Without thinking, Adam grabbed him by the front of his coat and pulled him close. With his other hand he puffed Florian's cheeks out so that his tongue would stick out and he held Florian's tongue between his gloved fingers. He wanted nothing more than to remove his glove and to make his tongue shrivel up and kill him so he could no longer make noise; and if he was not overly aware of Snow White and the position this would put her in, he would do it. Florian's beetle brown eyes were wide and actually had a hint of fear in them as he stared up at Adam.

"You may be prince in name alone," Adam copied Florian's words. "But you're obviously new to the Realm of Apfel if you think I'm just going to let you waltz away with Snow White. She is far too precious and innocent for a terribly cruel world that I would never allow her to be released into your disgusting pig fondled hands." Adam dug his nails deeper into Florian's tongue, and hoped that the smallest secretion of his poison would touch his tongue. "I don't care who you are, prince of Franca or prince of the pig sty from which you belong, but you shall not disgrace Snow White nor disregard her as trash because you want something easy out of life."

He released Florian's tongue and shoved him aside. He glared down at Florian, "If you so much as lay a hand on her I shall personally remove all ten fingers one at a time, starting with the nails and go down each phalange until you have nothing but stubs. Are we clear?"

Florian who was sprawled out on the seat of the carriage only looked up at Adam in bewilderment and held his cheek since he could not hold his tongue. His eyes were still wide and Adam caught a faint smell that he knew all too well to as piss.

"Are we clear, Prince Foolrian?" Adam repeated. The mis-saying of his name seemed to have awakened him from his stupor because Florian blinked and glared up at Adam.

"Oh this is far from over." He hissed low.

"Only if you do not head my warning." Adam glared down at him. He was seething with anger that he could not kill the fool, that he could not harm the fool, that he had allowed himself to come so low in his position of a Recruit. It would appear that he had allowed his very existence to be in the hands of Snow White. He could not help but wonder if the old hag had had some right in saying that Snow White could charm men like a cat to catnip, but he knew it was not of the same level.

She was a light in the world filled of darkness where the most blood thirsty moths wanted a taste of her light. As much as Adam wanted nothing more than to protect that light that she held, he would be a hypocrite if he said he did not want a taste of the light as well; his only difference is that he would kill her if his skin ever touched hers. Since he could not have her, he would not allow anyone else to have her either, unless she truly wanted them. He would be her knight and keep the darkness from her even if it meant keeping himself from her.

When he stepped out of the carriage he noticed that Snow White was still petting the horse. She had her face buried in is long nose and though she wasn't crying, he could see she was shaking. He gently touched the rim of her hat to get her attention. She peeked one doe brown eye at him before slowly removing herself from the horse.

"Are you all right?" He asked softly and handed her his handkerchief.

"I-I'll be f-fine." She sniffled and dabbed the handkerchief to her eyes. "I just. . .I just wasn't expecting that from Prince Florian. How could he do something like that?"

Adam knew how much she liked animals. She actually refrained from eating the meat that was served in the castle and settled for the fruits and vegetables and grains instead; which was more than likely why she was so abnormally thin compared to the rest of Apfel.

"I don't know." He sighed as he kept trying to figure out why he was the fool that he was. "We can always ask him about it later, if you'd like."

"No." She shook her head, and a few curls bobbed on the sides. "No, I don't think I would like to hear his answer. Something tells me that it would only give me more heartache."

"Then let's not speak of it anymore." He held his arm out to her. "Shall we go and have a look around?"

"Yes." She nodded with a sniffle and all too easily took his elbow.

He led the way to get them as far from the carriage as possible while Florian tried to clean up his act and see how it needed to change to properly suit Snow White. They walked past the animals' stalls which seemed to have been the closest to them and proceeded to see the produce and jewelry that they sold. She smiled politely enough as she had the chance to speak to the different merchants, but some of her joy seemed to have been zapped away. She was quiet as well, which Adam did not like, it was uncomfortable silence that left him uneasy.

As they passed a small jewelry vender, there was a small something that caught his eye, and Snow White's too. The small vender had necklaces, rings, bracelets, circlets, and even earrings on display. He could tell that most of the gems were not true stones and more than likely a quartz or glass, but he noticed that Snow White kept her pretty little eyes on a red stoned delicate chained necklace that rested on the neck display. The stone was in the odd cutout of an apple line with gold and it rested on a delicate box chain with a lobster claw clasp.

"Hello, pretty princess." The vendor smiled a toothy smile at him. "Do you see something that you like?"

"Oh, I'm just looking." She smiled brightly. "They just sparkle so nicely in the sun I couldn't help take a look."

"Yes, I specifically picked this spot for that very reason!" He chuckled. "If there is anything that you see that you like, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you." She curtsied politely. "Perhaps another time. I really must go catch up with my mother, we have to look at fabrics."

She slipped from his elbow and went on ahead of him and Adam was aware of how lonely he felt without her there. He stayed there at the spot, just in case she would turn to come back for him, and watched her bob and weave through the crowds like she knew so well.

"Are you here to get the pretty little necklace that she looked at?" The vender asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Surely a prince like yourself knows that it is these little gestures that wins the girl's heart."

"You are far too sly, sir." Adam smirked at the man's insistence. "I'll get it for her, if the price is right."

"A lover, but still a cheapskate, eh?" He snorted as he carefully pulled the necklace from the neck display and held it out to him. "Just take a look at it and tell me, what do you think it is worth?"

"Do you want the sentimental value of it, or the monumental value?" Adam put his hand to his chin as he looked at it.

"Whatever will move your heart more, sir." He snorted, as if he already knew.

"Since I know my jewels very well and I can tell the different between the real thing and a fake." He watched the vender's smile falter. "I know that it's true worth isn't much. . .But it would be worth her smile and her happiness."

"What price do you think this is fitting, sir?" He chuckled as if he knew that that Adam was going to pay, whether it was for a good price or not.

"I'll pay you twenty silver pieces." The vender blinked. It was obviously more than what he was anticipating. "Even though the stone itself is fake, well, not entirely fake. It's not a ruby, but probably a garnet which is its own stone. The chain, however, I think it what has the most worth. I'll pay you twenty silver pieces."

Adam dug into his coat and pulled out a small money pouch. He had three within his coat, one for gold, one for silver, and one for the copper coins. He dumped out a few silver coins, counted the amount, and handed the money over to the vendor. The vendor in turn passed over a velvet cloth pouch while taking the silver.

"Pleasure doing business with you, sir." The vendor smiled his toothy smile and quickly stashed the money in his own treasure trove. Adam did not move, he opened the velvet pouch and double checked that the vendor placed the necklace within; he had. Satisfied with his purchase, he tucked the pouch away inside his suitcoat and made his way over to Snow White. He knew that she and Queen Grimhilde would be looking at the fabrics and other materials.

He all too easily found the Queen in the darker colors, she was looking at the emerald greens and purples that were aligned on the racks. She was discussing the materials and their costs with a few of the merchants. Not really wanting to engage in conversation with her he easily by passed her and continued on to search for Snow White. There was an array of fabrics from silks to velvets to cottons with everything from solid colors to textured and patterned fabrics. It was only when he reached the lighter colored fabrics that he found her. She was looking at a few yards of a soft pastel yellow fabric and had a small square piece of red fabric laid over the top.

"Finding anything that you like?" He asked quietly as he stood right behind her.

"A-Adam!" She jumped and pressed her hand over her heart as she caught her breath. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

Adam blinked down at her rather confused. He had walked up behind her and stood in this close proximity of her plenty times before. He had only scared her once before while she was doing laundry because she was lost in her thoughts. However, this was the first time that she was acting this way, she'd never yelled at him before. She took a deep breath and released it before turning back to the fabrics.

"I'm sorry . . ." He took a half step back and watched her to continue to examine the yellow fabric.

"No." She dropped her hands and looked at him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. I just got caught up in trying to decide if this yellow would go with the red."

"That's not a lot of red." He noted. She had an exact 12x12 square or red fabric in her hands.

"I know," she sighed sadly. "Red is so expensive for fabrics, especially this color. It takes longer to dye. So I can only get this much."

"You're having to pay for these materials?" He blinked incredulously at her.

"Of course I am." She gave him the most confused look in the world. "I always pay for my things."

"No, I meant – " He looked over his shoulder for the old hag. "No, I thought that the Queen was paying for it."

"Oh." Her mouth formed the cutest 'o'. "I don't know if she's willing to pay for it or not, but I just anticipated buying it myself."

"Is that why you haven't been getting tarts lately?" She flushed in response.

"I had to save every penny I had." She refused to look at him and her little ears were crimson.

"Why didn't you ask me for help?" He asked still confused. "I would have helped –"

"No." She shook her head and even tried to hide the fabric from him. "I-I d-didn't want your help with this. . ." She quickly turned away from him and scampered off somewhere else in the crowd.

He stood there, stunned by her words. They cut him through his core and it stung and hissed as anger slowly built up. He wasn't sure why it hurt as much as it did because she had every right to ask or decline his help whenever she wanted, it was just that she usually accepted it. His hand slowly went to his chest and he had to make sure that there wasn't an actual wound there. He looked down at his hand, there was no blood.

"Did I do something?" He slowly looked up in the direction that she had run off too. Suddenly a hand clamped his shoulder. He turned to see Frederick, a very displeased Frederick.

"Been lookin' everywhere for you." He huffed and his face relaxed. "Hey, are you okay?" He looked Adam over. "You look like you just saw a ghost or something."

"It's nothing." Adam shook his hand from his shoulder. "You said you were looking for me?" He did a quick glance around the area. "Where's the fool?"

"He's checking out the animals." He groaned and rubbed his face then dragged his hand down his face. "Said something about wanting a new pet bear or somethin' or other."

"Idiot." Adam hissed.

"Yes, he is." Frederick agreed with a shrug. "But unlike you I can't tell him off."

"You heard?"

"Quite the poetic speech, actually. If I were your fair lady I'd have swooned!" He smirked rather proudly at him. "Can't say I'd do better than you, though you seriously held back by not chopping his tongue out."

"If it would not reflect so badly on Snow White, I would have." He growled. "She would never have forgiven me."

"Somethin's definitely bugging you." Frederick assessed. "We can talk about that in a minute though. Look, Prince Adam when we get to the picnic, I need you to keep a very special eye on Snow White."

"Why?" Adam raised his eyebrow suspiciously at him.

"Because the Queen has planned something and I know it has taken a form of action." Frederick glanced above the heads of the others and easily spotted her crown. "I have no idea what she's done, but something shot from the castle to the area where she plans for us to have the picnic."

"It was probably the Shadows." Adam grimaced and crossed his arms. "She's had a nasty habit of using those behind my back to either check up on me or to do her bidding if I'm taking too long."

"Well, whatever it is that she's got planned keep your eye out - " Frederick's eyes went wide. "BEAR!"

Frederick gave Adam a hard shove as a bear came barreling past him. Adam watched the bear go off down the roads and saw that the fool Florian was yipping and hollering on top of the thing as if he were riding a bucking bronco.

"What in the –" Frederick gaped after it. "What does he thinks he's doing?"

"He doesn't." Adam dusted himself off and glared after the bear.

"He's just one of those lucky idiots that the universe wants to keep around in spite of me." Frederick groaned as he looked around. "Guess who's gotta clean this up?"

"I could always kill him." Adam offered. "Save us both some trouble."

Suddenly a high pitched scream pierced the air and Adam's blood ran cold. The Queen came running towards Frederick, her servants with her fabric materials in tow.

"My Queen!" Frederick went to her immediately as the crowds around them scattered.

"That prince!" She had to scream over the crowd. "He's riding a bear! He ran in that direction I think after Snow White –"

Whatever else was said Adam didn't hear, he just ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He had to get to Snow White. He just had too!

* * *

FREDERICK

Frederick was glad that he got to ride on the back of the carriage rather than inside. Although he was lucky to have the have the rolling wheels on the cobblestones to drone him out, that Florian guy was really loud. Everything that passed by them surprised him or he gawked at it as though it were the first time he'd ever seen it. He felt especially bad for Adam, the poor guy was exhausted and needed rest badly. Between the carriage ride and Florian he wasn't getting any sleep any time soon.

From the tidbits here and there that he could hear, Florian was trying to impress Snow White. He wasn't actually sure how much she actually believed him or if she was simply being polite and humoring him, but Snow White was the only one that could put up with him as of this point. To further distance himself from the conversations Frederick kept scanning the area. Whatever Hilde did he wanted to stop it before it could take action. She's tried acting innocent and he knows far too well that she has done something by her lying face and that gust of wind that shot from the castle.

The carriage ride was an easy twenty minutes but slowed as they reached the inner levels that would take them to the festival festivities. Whenever the carriage finally parked he noticed that Snow White was the first to leave. There was some sort of commotion going on within the carriage but not too long did Queen Grimhilde leave too. That meant the two princes were in there, which meant that Adam was having to resist the urge of killing the fool. With a sigh he hopped down from his place on the back of the carriage to see Adam holding Florian by the tongue and the throat. Frederick quickly ducked behind the window to continue to listen.

"You may be prince in name alone," Frederick heard Adam practically hissing at Florian. "But you're obviously new to the Realm of Apfel if you think I'm just going to let you waltz away with Snow White. She is far too precious and innocent for a terribly cruel world that I would never allow her to be released into your disgusting pig fondled hands. I don't care who you are, prince of Franca or prince of the pig sty from which you belong, but you shall not disgrace Snow White nor disregard her as trash because you want something easy out of life."

It got really quiet for a minute and Frederick decided to take a peek inside. He was surprised when he saw Adam release Florian's tongue and shove him aside. Adam glared down at Florian, "If you so much as lay a hand on her I shall personally remove all ten fingers one at a time, starting with the nails and go down each phalange until you have nothing but stubs. Are we clear?"

Frederick was well aware what Adam was capable, even if the Queen was still in disbelief, and he wanted nothing to do with getting on this guy's bad side. He's proven himself far too loyal to Snow White to allow this prince to come in an act like he owns the place. He appreciated the fact that Adam acted as a prince and as a man and did what was necessary to protect those around him; even if there was a growing chance of war because of the thick hostility.

Adam emerged from the carriage and stormed over to Snow White who was standing next to the horses. Frederick watched as Adam ever so tenderly and carefully spoke to Snow White as if she were glass and escorted her like the princess that she was. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. The poor girl deserved her happy ending with everything she had gone through.

"I ought to have him killed." Florian hissed as he was the last to emerge from the carriage. Frederick sniffed the air as there was an abrupt change and looked to Florian. It was a good thing he was wearing a long shirt, otherwise it pointed out the fact that he had wetted himself.

"Are you ready to see the town, Prince Florian?" Frederick smiled pleasantly.

"Step aside, peasant." Frederick pushed past him. "I do not need you to show and tell me everything that I can see for myself!"

Frederick's smile turned into a scowl as he followed after Florian. Despite the great appearances he kept putting on for Snow White, he had no problem in showing everyone else where his head was. Florian marched around looking at everything in sight, some things he looked excited about while others he could have cared less for. He seemed to be interested in only one thing, the exotic animal stalls. The hairs on the back of Frederick's neck stood up as they approached the animals.

"Hey, Prince Florian," He tried to seem chipper. "I think we should go check out these stalls over here –"

"Be gone peasant!" Florian pushed him again. Frederick had to stop and ball his hands into fists to calm down. This prince has pushed him one time too many. "I do not require your services or guardianship. I can take care of myself!"

"Be that as it may, Prince Florian." Frederick spoke through gritted teeth and a smile. "I am still required to guard you by orders by the Queen."

"I don't care what that woman has ordered you to do." Florian snapped. "This is the second time that I have told you to leave. I want to get a new pet bear and I do not need you standing around hovering to make me second guess my decisions. Now, be gone!"

"As you wish." Frederick had to turn and walk away or else he was going to be as bad as Adam and just strangle the guy. As much as this prince had coming to him, Frederick didn't want to be around when karma finally caught up with him. He heard the roaring of the animals and caught sight of a brown bear that had been chained and caged up.

Frederick hesitated in leaving and just watched the bear. Grimhilde had mentioned something about a bear earlier. He was worried that this could have been the bear she had meant. The longer he looked at it though, he saw that it was a bear that just wanted to be free of its shackles and looked relatively harmless, sad even. Frederick could only shake his head and walk away.

He wove himself into the crowd and eventually caught up to a gloomy standing Adam in the fabric district of the festival. He was staring at his hand then looking off in the distance as if something had evaporated in front of him.

"Did I do something?" Frederick heard Adam murmur. Frederick frowned, something had definitely happened.

"Been lookin' everywhere for you." He huffed and his face relaxed. Adam wasn't looking at him and looked as though he were in a tunnel somewhere far away. "Hey, are you okay?" He looked Adam over then out to where Adam was looking. "You look like you just saw a ghost or something."

"It's nothing." Adam shook his hand from his shoulder. "You said you were looking for me?" He did a quick glance around the area. "Where's the fool?"

"He's checking out the animals." Frederick groaned and rubbed his face then dragged his hand down his face. "Said something about wanting a new pet bear or somethin' or other."

"Idiot." Adam hissed with a glare. This poor guy was just having the worst highs and lows.

"Yes, he is." Frederick agreed with a shrug. "But unlike you I can't tell him off."

"You heard?"

"Quite the poetic speech, actually. If I were your fair lady I'd have swooned!" He smirked rather proudly at him. "Can't say I'd do better than you, though you seriously held back by not chopping his tongue out."

"If it would not reflect so badly on Snow White, I would have." He growled. "She would never have forgiven me."

"Somethin's definitely bugging you." Frederick assessed. "We can talk about that in a minute though. Look, Prince Adam when we get to the picnic, I need you to keep a very special eye on Snow White."

"Why?" Adam raised his eyebrow suspiciously at him.

"Because the Queen has planned something and I know it has taken a form of action." Frederick glanced above the heads of the others and easily spotted her crown. Grimhilde was off looking as some rich and dark colored fabrics that she would have made into dresses and cloaks. "I have no idea what she's done, but something shot from the castle to the area where she plans for us to have the picnic."

"It was probably the Shadows." Adam grimaced and crossed his arms. "She's had a nasty habit of using those behind my back to either check up on me or to do her bidding if I'm taking too long."

"Well, whatever it is that she's got planned keep your eye out - " Frederick's eyes went wide. "BEAR!"

The exact bear that he had seen earlier, the sad one was roaring as it came barreling down the road. Frederick gave Adam a hard shove as the bear came barreling past them. Adam watched the bear go off down the roads and saw that the fool Florian was yipping and hollering on top of the thing as if he were riding a bucking bronco.

"What in the –" Frederick gaped after it. He was really hating this guy. No wonder his father was so easy of him going out on an adventure and getting out of his castle. He would have killed Florian by now if he were Frederick's child; then again had that been his child he never would have let him act like that. "What does he thinks he's doing?"

"He doesn't." Adam dusted himself off and glared after the bear.

"He's just one of those lucky idiots that the universe wants to keep around in spite of me." Frederick groaned as he looked around. Much of the festival's decorations had been torn or pulled down, and it was only the first day of the festival! It was going to be a very long week with this guy here. . . "Guess who's gotta clean this up?"

"I could always kill him." Adam offered. "Save us both some trouble."

Frederick could only look him in the eye because that offer was growing more and more tempting with each passing moment with Florian. Suddenly, a high pitched scream pierced the air and Frederick's blood ran cold. He looked over to Adam and saw that his already white skin paled a few shades whiter. The townspeople were running away from the direction the bear had run to. Frederick frowned and began to wonder if he should have done something about the bear, especially when he saw Grimhilde running towards him, her servants with her fabric materials in tow.

"My Queen!" Frederick went to her immediately as the crowds around them scattered. It wasn't a huge disaster and could easily be fixed, but that didn't excuse the fact that there was a royal mess on their hands and chaos had ensued.

"That prince!" She had to scream over the crowd. "He's riding a bear! He ran in that direction I think after Snow White –"

Whatever else was said Adam didn't hear, he just ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He had to get to Snow White.

"Adam, wait!" Frederick called after him, but he was already running too far.

"Ugh, he really does have feelings for her, doesn't he?" Grimhilde turned her nose up at Adam as he ran off.

"How deliciously disgusting." He watched as a smile began to creep on her face.

"Did you do this?" He stood still and looked down at her.

"No, I am not the cause of this little chaos." She looked at him rather annoyed. For once she wasn't lying to him. "Though I can't say I'm complaining too much, perhaps it'll get that stupid girl once and for all."

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Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you've been enjoying it so far!

Long story short, I'm going to finally have a week to myself where I'll be able to work on my stories as well as some of my sewing projects. I will be working on getting updates out quickly, but please don't expect too much too soon. I do promise that things are getting rolling though. ^_^

Thank you for all of the reviews, they've been super helpful and they help give me an insight. I can't promise that I'll alter or cater all of my stories to everyone's tastes because if I bothered trying to please everyone the story would not be interesting nor would it be something enjoyable to write. Thank you for all of your support and I hope that I've provided adequate entertainment during these stressful times.

Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	24. Chapter 24

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

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Chapter Twenty-Four

SNOW WHITE

Prince Florian has shown himself to be overly friendly and outgoing and he had a really bad habit of talking too much. From how he talked he showed that he really didn't think about what he said before he said things; Snow White could only assume he was an only child and didn't have very many friends. On the tour he would ask questions on top of questions while Snow White tried to answer and explain the previous questions; she found that to be very odd and rather rude. He made it very difficult to carry on a conversation with because he really liked to talk about himself and all of his accomplishments he had made in life.

He would tell her sweet things that would make her heart go a flutter or blush occasionally before talking about some rather frivolous adventures that were simply too hard to believe and would ruin the moment. He was a good sweet talker and could flirt very well, but Snow White noted how he looked at some of the maids and other female staff in a manner that she knew all too well and strongly disliked it. He did not seem to be a bad person, but Snow White had found it difficult to talk to him and interact with him, especially since he did not seem to want nor care to listen to anything that she had said.

Towards the end of the tour she found it tiring to keep smiling and had Frederick escort her to her room so she could have a little peace and quiet while getting ready for the picnic

As she changed dresses to something more spring, she could not help but think about both Adam and Florian. Although she was very aware that they were entirely two different people she could not help but compare and contrast them.

Adam was tall, pale, handsome, mysterious, empathetic, and an overall gentleman. From the moment she met him she felt as though she could talk to him about anything and he always listened. Unless it was during lessons he really did not speak very often, not that she minded, but she really wanted to get to know him better. He claims to be Queen Grimhilde's nephew, which would mean that he would kind of be her cousin, but something is off about both of their relationships. Also, Snow White can't help but wonder if there is something he hasn't told her yet, which could very well be for her own safety, but he knows things and doesn't tell her. In everything that he did he always treated her like a lady, even a princess, and she secretly cherished that.

Florian was taller than Snow White, but not taller than Adam nor Queen Grimhilde. He was handsome for a prince as well as pleasant enough, but Snow White did not feel as though she could trust him and she could not get rid of the feeling that he was lying to her about everything that came out of his mouth. He talked a lot and listened even less, especially to Snow White and she could not help but find it both concerning as well as overwhelming. Some of his stories were entertaining, but many of them repeated the same words from his other stories and she couldn't help but feel that he kept telling her the same story multiple times just in different ways. Even though she has just met Florian and she has no right to judge a book by its cover, whenever she is around him she gets the same feeling whenever those men who took her virginity.

"No, I can't think like that. . ." She shook her head and looked at herself in the mirror. "Prince Florian hasn't done anything to me, that's not fair to him." She stared into the eyes of her own reflection, as if she had to talk to herself to give herself new courage. A sigh escaped her and she fell back on the small vanity cushion seat. "Maybe if I had never met Adam, I wouldn't feel like this conflicted. . ."

She frowned at the thought and hated the idea of never meeting Adam. He had shown himself to be trustworthy, reliable, and he has protected her from the aggressive attackers. She hasn't seen them or heard anything about them the day he escorted her back to the castle. She couldn't help but feel safe when around him, especially since he was so patient with her in teaching her to read. He had made her feel special, important, which was something she hadn't felt since her father passed.

A chill ran through her and she shivered. She rubbed her arms to get a little bit more heat conducted and get the blood pumping. Although the Queen was attempting to fix her relationship with Snow White she had still yet to give Snow White a new room. Not that she minded since it had been her room all her life, but there are a few holes in the stone that allow the winds to come in and her room gets drafty at night. It's a miracle that she hasn't gotten sick from how cold it gets in the evening.

With the cold pushing her forward Snow White quickly changed into her soft yellow dress and made sure to grab both her hat and the one she had been working tirelessly through the nights to make for Adam. She had noticed that he really didn't seem to have much and he seemed to not like the heat, so she hoped that a hat would help keep him cool. Not that she minded when he sweated, he had such a sweet smell to him like a hint of apples and something else mixed with it, perhaps a bourbon? She had yet to give him back his handkerchief and found herself placing it on her pillow so the sweet scent would help her sleep.

Peeking her head out of her door she saw that the coast was clear and she could quickly make a trip to the throne room. She wasn't sure where Adam had gotten off too since she had to give Florian a tour, but she hoped he would be in the throne room. As quietly as a mouse, she peeked into the throne room and saw rather disappointedly that it was empty. A small sigh escaped her as she turned from the throne room and made her way to the carriages. She secretly hoped that she would run into Adam along the way so that she could give him his hat. If she walked slow enough, maybe, just maybe she would run into him. When she made her way down the long pillared halls that would take her to the carriage Prince Florian quickly met up with her.

"Snow White!" He bounced over to her.

"Ah, Prince Florian." She smiled at him to be polite. It would be rude to ignore him or not smile at him.

"I see you changed dresses." He noted looking her up and down.

"Y-Yes." She felt that it was odd that he pointed that out and held her hats tighter in her hand. "I thought that this would be a better color for the picnic."

"Although I much preferred the other one." He noted. "I still think that is a lovely dress on you, Snow White! That yellow is absolutely lovely!"

"Thank you, Prince Florian." Her smile was making her tired again. But smiling meant that she was being nice and kind and that things would be right as rain. As she searched for the carriages up ahead, she saw Adam standing looking a little lost as he stared at her. Her heart swelled and she could feel those bubbles of happiness popping inside of her.

Tall, pale, and handsome he stood down the long halls. The sun shined brightly on his raven black hair and it shine with a pretty sheen. His eyes were so brown they were black, but she could not help but feel drawn to those ever growing and caring eyes. He wore his usual dark royal blue suitcoat, not that she was surprised; perhaps blue was his favorite color. The blue still made him look very dashing. Her heart simply wished that he was the prince that would find her and take her away.

"There you are!" She beamed up at him, so relieved to see him, and instantly ran to him. "I was wondering where you had gotten off to. I went back to the throne room, but I didn't see you. . ."

She suddenly felt very warm for telling him that she went to look for him. That wasn't very lady-like nor was that a princess thing to do. The princess was supposed to wait for the knight or prince or man to come to her; she hadn't even thought about that because she simply wanted to see him so badly.

"You must have missed me when I made my way here." He smiled down kindly at her and her heart was like a bird trying to escape from a cage.

"Oh." She felt just a tad embarrassed. But as she still looked up at his face she could see dark circles forming under his eyes, like he hasn't been sleeping very well. "Adam, are you all right?"

"I'm fine." He still smiled but he looked so tired.

"Are you sure?" She was sure he was tired. His face was slightly droopy and she could see that his body was fatigued. "You have dark circles under your eyes."

She ever so desperately wanted to reach up and touch his face to show him what she saw, but she wouldn't. Any time she tried to touch his face or hands he jumped away, as if she burned him or something. She tried not to take it too personally since he didn't seem much of a touch oriented person, but it still stung occasionally.

"Just a rough night." He looked away from her and over her shoulder. She had completely forgotten that Prince Florian was still nearby.

"Are you having problems sleeping?" She held onto his arm to make sure his attention was on her. She didn't want Florian being the reason he wouldn't tell her something. She wanted nothing more than to help him after all the help he's done for her. If she could do anything, anything at all to help him she would do it. "If you are, I have a wonderful tea that could help. I also have a soft pillow you could borrow if you need it –"

"My dear, Snow White." He spoke in such a soft voice and called her such a tender name that her heart felt that it was going to burst. She could only look up at him as he had all of her attention. "I promise that I am fine. I will admit that I am a little tired, but I am fine."

She looked so desperately into his eyes seeking and searching for any hint that he was putting on a strong face for her so she wouldn't worry even though there could have been something deeper going on. Despite her searching, she could not detect a lie, and although she wanted to help she was glad he wasn't lying to her.

"I believe you." She said earnestly, wanting to convey that she truly did. "I just wanted to help. . ."

There she went again, telling him what she wanted and how she felt.

"I know." His smile was so tender she was sure she would pass out from the ever growing heat within her.

"If there is anything that I can do to help," Florian suddenly came up into their conversation. "Please, Adam, just let me know."

She watched as his smile fell and an irritated look replaced it. She did not like it when he scowled or frowned, he looked so much more handsome when he smiled.

"How kind of you, Prince Florian." She smiled and responded to him in place of Adam. She was aware that Adam was far from a fan of Florian and from Florian's stiffness the feeling seemed to be mutual.

"But of course." He smiled down at her. "Anything for a fellow royal. I must say that I am looking forward to this picnic, I do believe that it will be a lovely day out. And I know that that hat will look simply splendid on you, Snow White."

Thank goodness he let his mouth run! She forgot about the hat in her hand! She was so caught up with Adam that she forgot. She blushed in embarrassment that she had forgotten such an embarrassing thing. She felt so silly, ridiculous, and utterly stupid. How could she forget to give him his hat?

"Two hats?" Adam noted as he glanced from her hands to her face.

"O-o-oh." She cleared her throat and looked away. She couldn't directly look at him. "I-I brought you this one. . ." She had to gulp for air and for her words to return. "I know you don't really have hats with you s-so I made this one for you. I know you get hot easily in the sun so. . ."

She wanted to run away and hide and be anywhere but here stammering like the lovesick fool she was. She could feel her nerves catching up with her and could feel herself beginning to shake. She held out his hat but continued to look down at her own.

"Thank you." He took it from her so carefully and delicately that she had hardly realized he had taken it from her. "This is the best present I have ever received."

She looked up at him, his eyes and smile were so honest. She wanted to cry she was so happy. She didn't know what to say she was so happy. She wanted to hug him or hold him, or even –

"We shouldn't keep the Queen waiting." Florian sounded a little miffed even though he had a smile on his face. "From what I hear she has quite the temper."

"And from whom do you hear this?" She turned and looked at him. Although it was true, as she had experienced it first hand, she was making a real effort to change and turn her life around. Snow White would not allow anyone to talk bad about her while she was going through such great lengths to change!

"Well, everyone, really." He shrugged unashamedly. "Between my messenger and a few villagers, I've heard quite a few things. I'm sure that Adam here can attest to it since he is her nephew."

"Gossip is not a good characteristic to have, Prince Florian." All of that happiness she just had seemed to immediately turn into a heated anger. "Rumors hand gossip are not kind things to spread, no matter how true they may be. . ."

She had to hug herself to calm herself down. She didn't want to start a fight, especially with Prince Florian since he was from the neighboring country, but he is stepping into some places that he shouldn't. She was very disappointed in him.

"Forgive me, Snow White." He bent to one knee before her. "I was merely jesting, joking, to lighten the atmosphere, even to get a laugh out of you."

"I did not find it amusing." She looked away from him and stepped closer to Adam. She did not find him to be funny at all.

"I sincerely apologize, Snow White." Prince Florian continued to apologize, rather vehemently, and took off his hat. "Can you forgive me?"

She actually wasn't sure all that much if she wanted too. He had been rather rude today and did not seem bothered by it in the least. She looked up to Adam for some kind of confirmation as to what she should do. Much to her surprise he gave her a smile. Happiness swelled within her again and she felt very proud of Adam. Despite his own personal feelings toward Prince Florian, he encouraged her to forgive him.

"I suppose I can forgive you." She stood straighter as she looked back to Prince Florian.

"Oh, thank you, Snow White!" He stood up and held his arms out as if he wanted her to run into them.

"However." She remained close to Adam. "I must ask that you not speak ill of my mother, no matter if it is serious or in a joking matter. It is not proper and it is certainly not kind."

And she especially did not need any more favors for her stepmother to dislike her any more than she already did. If Prince Florian ran his mouth like she knew that he would, he would say something and more rumors would spread.

"As you wish." He took off his hat and dropped to one knee again. He took her hand and placed a kiss on it, and though it was not unpleasant she did not particularly like this action; especially in front of Adam.

He kept his face down so she could not see if he were saying this because he actually meant it or if he were just trying to please her. That was another thing that Florian did that Adam did not. Florian always looked away and never kept eye contact with her when he spoke, as if he had something to hide. Adam always looked her in the eyes and always spoke openly with her even though she knew there were some things he could not easily talk about.

Feeling bad about comparing them again, she blushed rather foolishly.

"I thank you, Snow White." Florian stood and replaced his hat on his head and held his arm out to her. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, we shall." She nodded her head, though she much would have preferred if Adam had been the one to escort her. She wanted to look to Adam for him to send out his own invitation, but she had already accepted Prince Florian's arm and it would be rude to change so suddenly. Feeling rather ashamed, though, she kept her face forward and did not want to see whatever face Adam was making towards her. She wasn't sure what face he was making, but as she walked away she felt her heart hurt.

"You seem to have quite the interesting relationship with your cousin." Prince Florian kept his gaze ahead as he spoke. There was something in his tone that told her he was not as happy as he just was a moment ago.

"Well he is my cousin." She admitted, though she wasn't entirely sure if that were true. "A-And he has been teaching me to read and to –"

"Read? He's teaching you to read?" His nose crinkled in distaste. "Why would you ever want to read?"

"Because reading is fun." She looked up at him rather confused. "It teaches you things it –"

"I don't like girls who read." He said flatly and a very plastered smile stayed on his face. "Girls who read must be up to something. Typically, bad things."

That feeling that she got came back to her. She could feel herself shaking, despite the fact that they were walking, and she wanted to run. She wanted to run as fast as she could to Adam. She did not feel safe, no she did not. The conversation ended right there and she was ever so relieved to see that they had made it to the carriage and that the Queen was already in there. Should Prince Florian do or say something surely her step mother would do something to stop him.

"So what kind of thing should I be looking forward to when we get into town?" He suddenly sounded overly happy and completely different from just a moment ago.

Snow White removed her hand from his arm and held tightly to the carriage wheel as she looked up at him. He had that nice smile on his face as if what he said and how he had acted before had never happened.

"T-The people." She tried to find her voice. "The people are very nice, and there are many that have trades and – "

"What sort of trades?" He interrupted rather impatiently. "Anything interesting?"

"Well, there's the baker, the blacksmith –"

"Any of them have useful talents?" He interrupted again seeming more impatient. She felt her face grow warm and her eyes became hot. Her tongue crawled back into her throat and she wanted to run and hide. Although she was doing her best to answer his questions she obviously wasn't speaking fast enough for him.

"W-Why don't you tell me more about Franca?" She decided it would be better for him to do the talking since she wasn't fast enough. As he began to ramble on, she stole a glance in the carriage to see if her step mother was listening. She seemed to be distracted with her own thoughts in the carriage.

"Hey." Prince Florian snapped. "Are you listening?"

"Of course." She threw on a smile that she hoped he would believe. "I thought I saw something over there. Please continue."

Much to her relief Adam and Frederick came walking by and she felt relief was over her. Adam walked past her without casting her a glance and climbed into the carriage. He plopped down in the seat as though he were exhausted. She worried that he was getting enough sleep.

"Come, Snow White." Florian cooed and held her wrist. His grip was firm and tight and it sent her chills. "Let us join them or else we might get left behind."

"Yes, please do." Her step mother called. "Snow White, dear, please come and sit beside me."

Those were words that gave her relief, and even though she much preferred to sit beside Adam, so long as she wasn't beside Prince Florian she would be much better off. She entered the carriage and felt much better by seeing and feeling Adam's presence.

Prince Florian took his seat beside Adam and across from her and Snow White noticed that he was wearing a much different mask now.

"Oh, I'm so excited to see Apfel!" He seemed excited, but Snow White had a hard time finding it genuine. "I can't wait to try the food, to see the people, to see the country side!" He clapped his hand excitedly. "I can't wait to experience the Apfel experience."

Snow White could only stare at him. His words were the exact opposite of his actions just moments ago. She watched his face and his eyes carefully and the moment his eyes locked with hers he immediately looked away to the Queen or anyone or anything else but her. She wasn't sure what that was about, but she did not want to point it out in case he was embarrassed or something.

When the carriage finally lurched forward, she felt a bit more ease come to her, but she could not quite relax. Prince Florian kept looking at her as though he were undressing her, and she did not like that. She placed her hands in her lap and tried to look out the window to avoid that gaze, but then he started asking her questions that demanded her attention to answer and she had no choice but to look at her. She was tired of him asking her questions, especially since he would not allow her to finish answering them. She kept glancing out the window to see how close they were to town. Obviously Prince Florian saw because he purposely pointed a question to what was going on outside.

"What's this that is going on up ahead?" Florian asked nearly sticking his head out of the window to see what was ahead. She was so glad he was no longer looking at her.

"That would be our first stop." Queen Grimhilde spoke rather chipper.

"It is the merchants that have come for the festival." Snow White answered. "Many of them bring exotic animals, items, and fabrics, yes they're all very wonderful –"

"Animals, you say?" Florian interrupted, eyes sparkling as he liked the idea of getting a new pet. "I must have one to add to my collection!"

"Collection?" Snow White's smile faltered and her brow creased. She didn't like the way he said that. There was something off and foreboding by that response.

"Oh yes, I have quite the collection." Florian gushed. "I have quite the many a pet over the years, and once they get too old and die, or cease to entertain me I have them stuffed and preserved for all time!"

"Stuffed?" She gulped and felt a shiver go through her. Her hands balled up into little fists in her lap. She was horrified. She hated it when people went out hunting for fun and not even for the sole purpose of providing for a family or village. It was one thing to go hunting to provide, but it was another to hunt for the blood thirsty sport of it.

"Oh yes." He smiled brightly as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I even stuff the game from my hunts if they haven't already been made into fur rugs or hats!"

"A fur rug?" Queen Grimhilde seemed more interested in this topic. "Any bears per chance?"

"Bears, lions, you know some of the wilder beasts from our mountain trips." He listed the animals off his fingers. "We have plenty of fox furs for scarves, rabbit furs for the lining of boots – "

She wanted nothing more than to escape. All of her anxiety was building up to its peak and she needed to get away.

"We're here!" Snow White burst as the carriage lurched to a stop. She didn't even bother for the carriage to come to a full stop she was so desperate to get out of the carriage. She ran to the front of the carriage to the horses and pet them. They were living breathing animals that were good and honest creatures. The black one she was petting nuzzled her hat as she hid her face in the beast's shoulder first.

"Please." Her voice wavered as she whispered. "Please let me hide for just a few moments. . ."

The horse whinnied in response and even turned into her as if to assure her that it was all right. She shut her eyes and held the horse's face and just tried to calm her breathing and stop her sniffling. A few moments later she heard the carriage door squeak open and heels clicking on the cobblestones. She knew all too well that it was her step mother, but she made no movement to expose her location; not that she was really hiding but she was not ready to really speak to anyone.

Once her breaths had calmed and her nose no longer sniffled she removed her face from the horse's face and began to pet its long nose.

"Thank you, friend." She spoke softly to it and placed a kiss on its nose. "I needed that more than you will know."

Suddenly the carriage shook and caught Snow White's attention. Her curls whipped around as she watched carriage finish shaking before it stilled and heard loud voices from within. She just realized that Adam and Prince Florian were both in there. She was worried they were fighting and made her way over to the carriage when she heard Prince Florian speaking.

"I don't know what you think you're talking about." Florian snorted. "If I want something, I always get it, whether it be a prince, princess, or scullery maid."

"And that is what makes you lower than most scum." Adam sounded really angry. "And I would know."

She inched closer and stood just under the driver's seat so that she could hear what they were saying.

"What, are you the hero that's supposed to take out trash like me?" Florian responded. "You may be a prince in name alone, but you're obviously too new to the world of courting if you think I'm just going to let you waltz away with my prize. She's just gullible enough that I can –"

Snow White bit her lip at Prince Florian's words. Gullible? He thought she was gullible? She had only tried to be nice to him. He had been so rude and impatient with her and she thought she kept doing something wrong, but he thought she was gullible? If he thought that, what did Adam think?

Her eyes burned and she could feel the tears wanting to come back. She slid her hand over her mouth and nose to keep her from sniffling too loudly and to try to control her tears. She rested her back on the carriage when it suddenly shook again.

"You may be prince in name alone," Adam sounded truly angry. "But you're obviously new to the Realm of Apfel if you think I'm just going to let you waltz away with Snow White. She is far too precious and innocent for a terribly cruel world that I would never allow her to be released into your disgusting pig fondled hands. I don't care who you are, prince of Franca or prince of the pig sty from which you belong, but you shall not disgrace Snow White nor disregard her as trash because you want something easy out of life."

Her eyes widened and now her heart burned along with her tears. Adam's words touched her heart and she wanted to cry from the sheer happiness of him defending her. He thought she was precious. She didn't consider herself precious. She had been tainted by men, she had had to work all of her life, she had not received a proper education and was currently being taught things she should have, and she felt as though she did not belong here. Her heart swelled; he thought she was precious. Fresh happy tears trailed down her face as she smiled. She was going to move forward when she heard Adam speaking again in a low and deeply angered voice.

"If you so much as lay a hand on her I shall personally remove all ten fingers one at a time, starting with the nails and go down each phalange until you have nothing but stubs. Are we clear?"" She felt a chill go through the air and though her heart had previously been beating out of happiness, it stilled in fear. Adam was threatening to kill Prince Florian. No matter what was said she could not believe that Adam would kill Prince Florian; would he? Suddenly she thought about the two men who followed her and how she had not seen them since that day . . .

She didn't stay to hear the response and quickly went back to the horse. She had never once considered Adam as a threat or someone to fear, he had always been so kind and gentle to her, he even defended her just now! Still his words chilled her to the bone and she found herself shaking slightly. She couldn't figure out why she was shaking, she had no reason to doubt or even question Adam; but then again why had he befriended her so quickly? Was she naïve and gullible like Prince Florian said? Maybe she truly was. . .

She heard his quiet footsteps when he stepped out of the carriage and heard him approaching. She had her face buried in the horse's long nose and she swallowed her tears and tried to control her shaking. She didn't want him to think she was scared of him, and she especially didn't want him to think less of her. He gently touched the rim of her hat to get her attention. She peeked one doe brown eye at him and just watched him. He still looked exhausted, and although she could see the hints of his anger fading from his face he still looked and felt like the Adam she knew. Still watching him carefully, she slowly removed herself from the horse.

"Are you all right?" He asked softly and handed her his handkerchief. Just by plucking it from his breast pocket she could smell his sweet scent.

"I-I'll be f-fine." She sniffled and dabbed the handkerchief to her eyes. "I just. . ." She wasn't sure what to say after what she just heard. "I just wasn't expecting that from Prince Florian. How could he do something like that?"

There were many things that she was thinking of when it came to Prince Florian but she felt utterly betrayed by a stranger who lied to her with sweet words. He did not appear to be as aggressive or impatient in front of others, but from their conversations they've had today as well as what she heard in the carriage she wasn't sure what to think of him, Adam, or even herself anymore. She had nothing nice to say or to think about any of them at the moment.

"I don't know." Adam sighed and his growing fatigue made the circles under his eyes darker. "We can always ask him about it later, if you'd like."

"No." She shook her head, and a few curls bobbed on the sides. She didn't wat him to feed her more lies to try to placate her. She really did not want to be around him at the moment either. "No, I don't think I would like to hear his answer. Something tells me that it would only give me more heartache."

"Then let's not speak of it anymore." He held his arm out to her. "Shall we go and have a look around?"

"Yes." She nodded with a sniffle and all too easily took his elbow. The moment her had touched his arm peace washed over her like he was providing her a safe harbor to rest on from the whirling storm of emotions that warred inside of her. She didn't have to think, didn't have to speak, she was able to enjoy the scenes of the festival and walked in a comfortable silence between them. She felt very foolish to think that Adam would ever hurt her.

Adam led the way to get them as far from the carriage as possible and Snow White couldn't help but feel relieved. They walked past the animals' stalls which seemed to have been the closest to them. After hearing that Prince Florian liked to stuff his animals she really wished they had put the exotic animal display farther down. Adam guided her past the baker, who already had a massive line for his sweets, the florist, who was busy making bouquets and flower crowns, and proceeded take her down the long line of merchants that lined the streets with their stalls trying to sell their wares. The merchants greeted her kindly and tried to draw her in to buy something, but since she wanted to use her limited amount of spending money on materials to make a dress she was sadly stubborn about continuing moving. She smiled politely enough as she had the chance to speak to the different merchants, but some of her joy seemed to have been zapped away. All the crying she did plus all of her nerves must have taken a bigger toll on her than she had realized; she would still smile through it though because today was supposed to be a happy day.

They were walking past a few jewelry stalls when something caught her eye. It was a much small vender in comparison to the other merchants' stalls, but this particular table had a few more interesting items on it. The small vender had necklaces, rings, bracelets, circlets, and even earrings on display. There was a tiny necklace that had the prettiest red stone she had ever seen that rested on the neck display. The stone was in the odd cutout of an apple line with gold and it rested on a delicate box chain with a lobster claw clasp. She was not one to wear jewelry as she had never owned any, and she certainly did not need it, but it was very lovely.

"Hello, pretty princess." The vendor smiled a toothy smile at him. "Do you see something that you like?"

"Oh, I'm just looking." She smiled brightly, realizing she looked for too long. "They just sparkle so nicely in the sun I couldn't help take a look."

"Yes, I specifically picked this spot for that very reason!" He chuckled. "If there is anything that you see that you like, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you." She curtsied politely and felt rather guilty for looking too interested in the necklace when she couldn't afford it. "Perhaps another time. I really must go catch up with my mother, we have to look at fabrics."

She slipped from Adam's elbow and went on ahead of him so she could look at the fabrics without him. She had a very specific color pallet in mind and she hoped that she would be able to find the pieces and materials that she needed.

The garment district expanded in a world of color, textures, silks, cottons, ribbons, tulle, and just about everything else that any seamstress or sewing lover could dream of. The merchants from different corners of the world had their wares on display and she was so excited to see all of the fabrics. She wasn't sure where to start so she just walked along the rows of stalls and looked for what would catch her eye.

As she walked around she found an Italian stall that sold rich velvets. There was a particular deep midnight blue velvet that caught her attention; it was the same blue that Adam always wore. She was instantly drawn to it and reached her hand up to touch the soft fabric.

"Ciao signorina poco. Hello little lady." A nice Italian man spoke to her as she continued to pet the velvet. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, yes." She smiled back at him. "Could you tell me how much two yards of this would be?"

"Due metri, Two yards?" He put his hand to his chin. "Eight silver piece."

"Then I need two yards of this, please." She smiled, rather relieved of the price. She had twenty silver pieces, two gold pieces, and a handful of copper and brass pieces that she had planned on using later on.

"Solo un momento." He smiled as he picked up the velvet. "Just a moment. I'll have you two yards very quickly."

While he laid out the fabric to cut her two yards, she dug around in her coin purse and counted out the amount of silver she needed. She was so glad she knew how to do math and how to use money, even if her reading and writing was terrible. Knowing how to count proved to be very useful and helped her make many deals over the years when people tried to cheat her out of an honest price. She held the silver pieces in her hand and waited patiently as he cut the velvet, folded it over, and placed it in a brown paper.

"Eight silver." He held out his hand and she placed the silver pieces in his hand with a genuine smile.

"Already spending your money, I see." Her step mother chuckled behind her. "You must have found something nice to be spending your money so quickly."

"Ciao signorina." The Italian merchant smiled politely at the Queen.

"Oh, well." She blushed feeling embarrassed for some reason. "I found the prettiest velvet."

"Let me see." She snatched the brown paper from her and looked at the blue velvet. "My, this is exquisite." She mused as she ran her hand over the velvet. "Twenty yards, merchant."

"Venti Metri!" He gawked at her.

"Yes, twenty yards." She smiled richly at him. "I do love a good velvet. It would appear that you do have good taste in materials, Snow White."

"Thank you, step mother," She smiled but didn't feel very happy by that comment.

"Let me take this off your hands and have the servants take it back to the carriage for you." She smiled and handed off the fabric to one of the servants. "That way you won't have to worry about carrying that everywhere with you."

"Ah," She wanted to insist that she carry it, but the servant was already running to the carriage. "Thank you."

"Yes, well, enjoy yourself dear." She smiled before turning her attention back to the velvets and began to bargain prices with the merchant.

She left the merchant to the mercy of her step mother and continue to look at the other stalls. There was a particular piece of red silk from a Chinese merchant that caught her eye.

"Hello!" A Chinese woman merchant smiled broadly at her. "How can I help you?"

"How much for one yard?" She held up one finger and pointed to the red silk that she saw.

"For that red silk?" She looked then smiled at Snow White. "Seventy-two gold pieces!"

Snow White took a deep breath and felt rather faint. She didn't want to have to keep looking for other shades of red, especially since this one was the perfect shade of apple red.

"Um, how much for two gold pieces?" Snow White held out her two pieces of gold and the Chinese lady just blinked.

"One foot." She said rather blandly as if she lost interest. Snow White chewed her lip and eyed the red silk rather longingly. She didn't need a ton of red, though she would like more, but she would make it work.

"One foot, please." She handed the coins over to the woman who said rather disappointedly. She grumbled her own language, but removed the red silk and cut the foot of red silk for her. She folded it up into a square and handed it to Snow White.

"Thank you for your business." She didn't sound very thankful, but she still had a smile on her face."

"Thank you." Snow White bowed her head in thanks as she accepted the silk and quickly made her way to the other fabrics. She held the red silk tightly in her hand, she didn't want anyone to take it from her, and wandered over to some thick cotton and wool materials and tried to find a suitable material.

She had the blue velvet and the red silk and now she needed a pretty but cheap material for the skirt. She eyes some of the yellows and greens, some fabrics that would have been relatively cheap and tried to envision what the entire dress would look like, but it was becoming harder and harder to envision because she could not find the right shade of yellow. She found a rather pretty soft pastel yellow fabric that had potential and laid the small square of red silk over it, trying to see if it would work.

"Finding anything that you like?" Adam's voice was right in her ear and it completely broke her deep thought of fabrics.

"A-Adam!" She jumped and pressed her hand over her heart as she caught her breath. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I'm sorry . . ." He took a half step back and watched her to continue to examine the yellow fabric.

"No." She dropped her hands and looked at him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. I just got caught up in trying to decide if this yellow would go with the red."

"That's not a lot of red." He noted, and she felt very embarrassed.

"I know," she sighed sadly as her embarrassment only seemed to grow. "Red is so expensive for fabrics, especially this color. It takes longer to dye. So I can only get this much."

"You're having to pay for these materials?" He blinked incredulously at her.

"Of course I am." She gave him the most confused look in the world. She came into this fully expecting to pay for her own things. "I always pay for my things."

"No, I meant – " He looked over his shoulder for the old hag. "No, I thought that the Queen was paying for it."

"Oh. I don't know if she's willing to pay for it or not, but I just anticipated buying it myself."

"Is that why you haven't been getting tarts lately?" She flushed in response. That was exactly why she hadn't been going to see the baker to get tarts lately. She wanted to make sure she had as much money to spend on the materials she needed.

"I had to save every penny I had." She refused to look at him and she felt her ears burning.

"Why didn't you ask me for help?" He asked still confused. "I would have helped –"

"No." She shook her head and even tried to hide the fabric from him. "I-I d-didn't want your help with this. . ."

She quickly turned away from him and scampered off somewhere else in the crowd. She didn't know why she was running, but she just didn't want him to know that she wanted to impress him with something. He always impresses her with every little thing that he does from his writing to his reading to his quick wit and how naturally he was. She felt she had little to contribute to impressing him. She could occasionally cook, but unless he was impressed with her cleaning skills she was not impressive at all.

She ran and ran and ran until she was on the very outskirts of the festival where she felt as though she were able to have her first true breath of air. The wind blew her back, as if preventing her from going any farther, and had her open her eyes to take in the beautiful blooming spring day. The fields were wide and open with flowers of white, yellow, pink, and small purples popping up everywhere. The trees blew in the wind, the flowers danced, and even the birds sung a pretty little song. She felt as though she were momentarily free from her role as both a princess as well as a citizen of Apfel. Although she loved her city and the people who lived there, she just felt momentarily free from everything as she stood on the very edge of the town.

She wanted to steal a few moments more to herself when there was a roaring bellow that sounded like a bear and screams coming from within the city. She turned to look behind her when she saw a bear with Prince Florian riding the top of it.

"There you are!" He laughed and steered the bear in her direction. She wanted to run, but she found herself paralyzed to the spot and couldn't even scream as a brown bear came barreling towards her. It was only when Prince Florian had scooped her up that air found her lungs and a scream escaped her.

"Calm yourself, princess!" Prince Florian shouted. "The bear is harmless! I'm just teaching him what he will need to do for the future as my pet!"

"This is a bear!" She yelled back and tried to pry herself free from his grasp. "A wild bear!"

"No, a Russian bear!" He laughed like a crazy man as the bear continued to run towards the forest.

"Prince Florian." She still tried to pry herself free. "I don't think that we should –"

Before she could finish, the bear suddenly jerked off to the left and threw both Prince Florian who did not have a good hold of the bear and Snow White off of its back. She scuttled and rolled against a small patch of rocks and roots and rolled her way on the base of a tree. She pushed herself up and saw that Prince Florian had jumped up and was facing off a very displeased brown bear.

"You foul beast!" Prince Florian unsheathed his sword. "I shall teach you to listen to your master!"

The bear roared and ran at Prince Florian while Prince Florian yelled and ran at the bear.

"No!" She pushed herself up and ran as fast as she could to catch up to Prince Florian. Either Prince Florian was a slow runner or Snow White was a very fast one, but one way or another she was able to catch up to him and push him out of the way. They went rolling to the side while the bear began to roll down the hill. She sat up and watched the bear roll to where she had just been, but it skidded in its roll and managed to hop back up and look back at a furious Prince Florian.

"You, stupid girl!" He roared with a scary glare. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"You would have killed it!" She yelled back.

"It disobeyed me!" He marched up to her and yanked her up roughly by her arm. She yelped in pain and felt a nasty bruise developing on her arm. "You stupid –" He reared his hand up to back hand her. She turned her face in the direction of the bear and saw that it was quickly climbing the hill and coming towards them.

She wasn't sure what would have been worse, being back handed by Prince Florian or being trampled by a bear. She closed her eyes and readied for the impact of his hand or the weight of the oncoming bear and wasn't sure what was going to get her first.

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Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying it so far!

I have a lot more free time now that I have accomplished a few goals this week, so I'm trying to write a little bit more. ^_^

Writing from Snow White's perspective was rather challenging. I had to rethink quite a few things of how she herself as a Disney princess would react as well as she herself as my changing character. I'm a lot more satisfied with how she has turned out than what I had originally planned out. I like feeling as though I'm giving her a better chance at life. I made her chapter a little longer so that way everyone could see her perspective on things. Who do y'all ship her with more? Adam or Florian?

Writing Florian has been rather conflicting. I know in the original film he wasn't a bad guy, but he wasn't necessarily a good guy. Think about it, the only screen time we get of him is singing to Snow White and kissing Snow White awake. He doesn't get involved with the Evil Queen, the Dwarves do and then she dies with the treacherous boulder and cliffside. I am aware that he does not have a good personality, he isn't supposed to. If you don't like it, well, you don't have to continue reading. He's supposed to be the competition and not everyone you meet are who they say they are; plus if you do any research of the French during Snow White's original time period (1500-1530's so the 16th century) a lot of Florian's sexist attitude and downplaying of Snow White's intelligence would have been part of that particular period of history.

And before any of you go on tangents or rants about the history, yes I am aware that not all men treated women this way, yes I am aware that women were able to have some forms of education (though not as vast as others), and that there were even successful women during this time period. In my story I am reflecting the more negative sides of Florian so that he is a true challenge/competition for Adam.

Please continue to leave reviews and letting me know what you think of the story. ^_^

Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!


	25. Chapter 25

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

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Chapter Twenty-Five

Adam ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He had no idea where he was going he was just following after the bear as it went deeper and deeper into the woods and farther and farther down the hill. He was surprised that the bear hadn't tripped over its stubby legs and rolled down the hill yet. He could hear Snow White and Florian yelling at each other as the bear picked up more speed. They were so much farther ahead he wasn't sure where exactly they were, he only knew he was going in the right direction when he found her red cloth and her hat along the way. He had made sure to get them because she would definitely ask where they had gone and continued to run. He had to get to her.

His toxicity level rose with his heavy sweating the more he pushed himself to run faster. His lungs screamed at him as he breathed in his own toxins and as his lungs craved new air from his running. His blood lust was at an all-time new high that craved vengeance. His adrenaline demanded that he go faster while his limps begged to slow down. He just kept running.

He dodged low hanging braches and vines that lingered in the forest as he came closer to the bottom of the hill. After what felt like hours of running, he finally saw her. Face down in the dirt, as though she had been flung, and draped over tree roots. He saw that the fool was already up and getting ready to attack the bear.

"You foul beast!" Prince Florian unsheathed his sword. "I shall teach you to listen to your master!"

The bear roared and ran at Prince Florian while Prince Florian yelled and ran at the bear.

"That idiot!" He snarled. He made himself run again and in a weird slow motion of events in his running watched as Snow White got back up and flung herself on Florian to get him out of the way.

"No!" She yelled at Florian.

"No!" Adam yelled at her.

They went rolling to the side while the bear began to roll down the hill. She sat up and watched the bear roll to where she had just been, but it skidded in its roll and managed to hop back up and look back at a furious Prince Florian. Adam felt as though time had stopped, like this was all one bad dream, no matter how fast he pushed himself it wasn't enough.

"You, stupid girl!" He watched Florian yell and glare at Snow White. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"You would have killed it!" She yelled back.

"It disobeyed me!" Florian marched up to her and yanked her up roughly by her arm. She yelped in pain and Adam saw red. "You stupid –"

Florian reared his hand up to back hand her. She turned her face in the direction of the bear and saw that it was quickly climbing the hill and coming towards them. The blood lust pushed through him along with his adrenaline high. Before Florian could hit Snow White Adam had reared his fist back and made a full on contact with his nose and sent him flying back bleeding. He held Snow White to him and turned to the running bear that still had his location targeted.

Adam held up his hand and sent a puff of his Apple Poison at the bear and the bear skidded and rolled to a stop before him. The bear drooped into a deep slumber on its side. Adam stared down the bear then turned slowly to a bloody faced Florian who was holding his face as he sat up. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on such a high end that he could not calm down. The only thing that was keeping him from fully killing that fool was –

"Adam?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

He looked down to her immediately, and the blood lust couldn't decide what it wanted.

She had a scrape and a bump on the right side of her forehead, but there wasn't an impression of a handprint on her face. Her hair was in disarray but she had not received any major head wounds. Her dress was disheveled and the sleeves were ripped beyond compare. Those doe brown eyes were so full of fear and tears as she looked up at him, pleading him to hold her. He did. He held her securely to himself. He had her in his arms.

"Are you all right?" He asked and his hand went to her face. He wouldn't touch the scrape directly because he was worried about it getting infected.

"How -?" She was so surprised. She looked over to their left. "The bear?"

"Sleeping." He reassured and used his hand to gently guide her face back to him to have her look at him.

"Only sleeping, I swear." He looked her over again and made sure her eyes were fine, that they weren't dilated or different sizes. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Her brow creased and she looked so confused. "I'm slightly tired." He stiffened at that. He had completely forgotten about his toxicity levels, and he was holding her. "How did you get here?"

"I ran." He half-laughed at himself and carefully and slowly released his hold on her to where he was holding her by her shoulders. "I came for you."

"Where's Prince Florian?" She tried to glance around him, but he stepped in front of her.

"That fool is fine." Adam growled. "He only got a fistful of what he deserved."

"My face!" The fool began to cry as he held his nose. "My nose! What have you done to me?"

Adam gritted his teeth as both he and Snow White looked at Florian. He was sitting up, which was the worst thing he could do for a bloody nose, wailing like a toddler. He had a lot of blood dripping down his shirt, and he was reacting worse that what could have happened to him. He would heal, he would be fine, he just wouldn't be as pretty to sway young ladies' hearts anymore.

"Adam!" Snow White gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

"It's just a bloody nose." Adam said unabashedly. "I'd rather him have the bloody nose than you."

She looked at him with wide eyes, as if she had not heard him correctly.

"He would have hit you had I not punched his nose." Adam spoke as calmly as he could. His entire being was shaking with anger and a lustful blood lust towards Florian. "That was the least damage that I could do to him."

An odd series of faces passed over her face. The first was shock, which he had expected; the next was a wary look at him, which did not surprise him; and a look of acceptance, which he had not expected. He was sure she would have shoved him off and told him never to speak to her again because she either feared him or no longer felt safe with him, or both. She did neither. She instead grabbed his hand and gave it a tight squeeze. It was then that he realized that she was shaking too, but hers from fear where his was anger.

"Thank you." She said almost bewildered. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't –"

"Don't." He hissed with a wince. Thinking about what could have happened had he not made it in time hurt him deeply in his chest.

"O-Okay." She nodded in an odd sort of agreement. She suddenly turned her gaze to the bear. She stared it down and watched as it slowly but steadily breathed contently as though it were in a deep sleep. "How did you make it sleep?" She looked up at him with a scared curiosity in those doe brown eyes.

"Princess Snow White!" Frederick called from afar. Both Adam and Snow White turned to see Frederick a few other huntsmen running down the hill coming towards them. "Prince Adam!"

She waved them over and they came quickly. The huntsmen stood at the ready in case the bear got up again, but Snow White deliberately forbade them from harming it and told them to let it sleep. Frederick had the other men get Florian on a horse so he could see a doctor about all of the blood. Frederick had them leave two horses behind and sent the other huntsmen back into town. Fredrick stood and waited until they had all disappeared into the forest before turning to them.

"Are you two all right?" He looked between the two of them.

"I'm fine." Adam nudged Snow White forward. "It's her I'm worried about."

"I already told you that I'm fine." She blushed looked up at Adam. "It's just a scrape."

"Still, even a scrape can do more damage if it's not taken care of." Frederick guided the horses over to them. "You still need to get looked at."

"B-But I feel fine -!" She tried to argue, but Adam merely scooped her up and sat her up on the horse. She flushed a deep shade of pink as she looked down at him. "A-A-Adam!"

"You're going to get seen by a doctor." He told her. "I will go with you, but you are going to see a doctor. I don't want this becoming something." He gently held her head and grazed his thumb near her head scrape. She burned a deeper shade of pink.

"F-F-Fine." She turned her face away from him and grabbed the horse's reins.

Adam looked back so he would take the other horse, but Frederick had already saddled up and was looking at him expectantly. Taking the hint, Adam climbed up behind Snow White and snaked his arm around her waist. Her ears turned red and he could feel her heart rate quickening, but she did not resist nor fight him to remove his arm.

"Well, if you two are ready." Frederick gave him a smirk. "I'll take you two the back way so we don't have to be a display for everyone."

He flicked the reins and the horse began its trot, Adam followed his actions and followed close behind. Although he had his arm around her waist, Snow White was leaning forward closer to the horse's head. Although she sat side saddled, she was making it very obvious that she would look at everything in front of her and nowhere near Adam.

"If you lean too far forward you'll flip over." He said softly and felt her stiffen. "Should I remove my arm?"

"N-No." She sat up suddenly and very stiffly. "That won't be necessary."

"Are you sure you're all right?" he sighed, wishing he could see her face. Even though she sat somewhat closer, she refused to look at him.

"Yes, I'm fine." She squeaked.

"Then why won't you look at me?" He finally asked. He never understood why she looked away from him sometimes. He felt as though he had somehow done something wrong or hurt her.

"I'm just embarrassed. . ." She admitted quietly. "I can't ever seem to do right."

"Why do you say that?" His brow furrowed.

"I couldn't stop Florian." He watched as she pinched the inside of her elbows. "I couldn't defend myself; I couldn't stop the bear."

"Those are things you couldn't have done yourself." He admitted. He watched as she stiffened again. "That's why I'm here. To do the things that you couldn't."

Those doe brown eyes finally met his. They were brimming to the rim with tears, and despite how puffy her face was getting as she tried not to cry, he found her adorable. She turned into him and buried her face in his chest and wrapped her little arms around him tightly. He merely wrapped an arm around her shoulders and his hand on her head and held her close. It felt so good to have her in his arms where he could keep her safe and to know that she was safe.

"Thank you." She whispered into his chest.

"Always for you, my dear Snow White." He rested his cheek to his gloved hand. He enjoyed these few precious moments when he could because he was never sure when he would ever get another chance to hold her like this.

They rode in silence back to the town, and just as Frederick promised he took them around the back to avoid the public eye. Adam knew that they were close because he heard the distinct wailing of Florian as he was being examined.

"Are you sure all you did was give him a bloody nose?" Frederick called over his shoulder. "It sounds like you broke his nose."

"I shall leave it up to the doctor to determine the state of his nose." He couldn't hide the smirk on his face. "Whether or not it is broken will be told after the blood has been cleaned up."

"Did you have to hit him?" Snow White asked as she sat up, her doe brown eyes looking into his own eyes.

"Yes." Adam nodded his head with a very serious face. "It is what he gets for raising his hand at you as well as for putting your life in danger." His hand slid from the crown of her head to her cheek. "I will prevent any and all who will try to hurt you, Snow White. I will protect you."

A blush instantly flushed her face and there was a certain hazy look in her eyes. Despite the fact that he could tell that she wanted to look away, she didn't as if she needed to search his face for answers. The look that she kept giving him was very hard to look away from and he felt the strongest urges to lean down and kiss her. He felt his own face heat up and forced himself to look away to abstain from the temptation.

"Before I forget." He cleared his throat and pulled out the red fabric from his inside pocket. "I believe this is yours."

"My silk!" She began to pale and go back to her natural color as she accepted her fabric back.

"And this." He smiled and placed her hat on her head. "I found them on my way to you."

"Thank you!" More tears leaked from her eyes and she hugged the fabric to her. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"If it's important to you, it's important to me." He smiled and reached his hand to her face to wipe away the tears.

"We're here." Frederick called and pulled the horse to a stop. Frederick had kept his back to them the whole time and he sounded either jealous or annoyed after hearing them the entire way. He slipped off his horse easily and didn't bother turning to look at him and tied his horse to the horse post.

Adam got off of the horse first and then assisted Snow White off before escorting her inside. Frederick stood waiting for them at the door with his arms crossed and a knowing smirk on his face. Adam pointedly ignored him and followed Snow White in just as Prince Florian let out another howl of pain. Snow White released his elbow and grabbed his hand and led the way to the room where the doctor was cleaning Florian's face. The doctor was dipping a cloth into a basin of warm water and touched it to Florian's forehead when the fool screeched again. Snow White stopped leading the way and instead followed Adam into the room.

"That son of a –" Florian yelled.

"For someone who fought a dragon and received terrible burns," Adam tactfully reminded him. "You seem to have very little pain tolerance."

"You." His eyes were blazing and he pointed a finger at him. "You bastard!"

"Prince Florian I will only tell you this once." Adam narrowed his eyes. "Speaking curses and foul language in front of a lady and princess is most unbecoming and unsightly. Perhaps you should calm yourself so that you can think rationally before you just spout whatever comes to mind."

"You – " Florian began to charge up again, but the doctor merely placed the warm cloth on the fool's face and wiped the blood and snot from his face while looking at Adam.

"Young man, if you're here to cause trouble, I advise you leave." The doctor frowned at him. "The prince here makes enough noise without you instigating something." He removed the cloth for Florian's face and dipped it back into the basin of water. "So unless you have business with me, I advise you leave so I can take care of my patient."

"I do." Adam said bluntly. "I have a much calmer patient that you should check up on."

"You certainly don't seem to have anything wrong with you." The doctor looked him up and down.

"Not me." Adam stepped aside to show Snow White. "She needs you to check her head."

The doctor froze as soon as he saw Snow White.

"The princess is hurt?" He blinked rather confused.

"She hit her head very hard after being thrown off of a bear." Adam supplied. "She's got a scratch, but it needs to be cleaned and checked for a lump."

"A bear?" The doctor blinked then turned to Florian. "Is that how you messed up your face?"

"No he - " Florian roared to life again.

"No, I had to scold him for putting the princess's life in danger." Adam answered over him. "he's the one that rode the bear in the first place and dragged the princess down with him."

"Oh, well then let me get cleaned up." The doctor went to the sink and began to wash his hands. Florian sat up wide eyes and mouth gaping.

"But what about me?" He whined.

"You're fine!" The doctor snapped. "You only have a bloody nose it's not even broken!"

"Then why does it hurt?" He whined back.

"I could always check to make sure it's not broken." Adam offered and took a half step towards Florian, his hand at the nose level to grab Florian's nose.

"Don't you dare touch me you bast – "

"Don't waste your time with him." The doctor groaned and wiped his hands clean. "Let's just get her taken care of. Sit over here, Princess Snow White."

Snow White did as she was instructed and sat up on the small examination table. She placed her hands in her lap and almost seemed to shrink herself to an even smaller size. The doctor very gently cleaned the head scrape and further examined her head. Seeing as there were no bumps or lumps or anything to be too concerned about the doctor turned to Adam.

"Her dress is in worse shape than she is." He smiled confidently. "She's a lot stronger than she looks and sis perfectly fine. If she has any headaches or she has fainting spells, bring her back and I'll do further examination."

"Yes sir." Adam nodded respectfully and passed on some gold coins to him. "This should be enough to pay for her checkup; I can't say the same for your ears after dealing with him."

"Thank you sir –" The doctor gratefully took the coins and pocketed them and eyed Adam, trying to figure out what to call him.

"He is Prince Adam." Snow White spoke up. "T-The Queen's nephew."

"Prince Adam." The doctor's eyes widened.

"Thank you for tending to her." Adam said flatly and went over to Snow White. "We will be taking our leave now."

"What about me?" Florian whined and stood.

"I'll get him," Frederick heaved a sigh and looked even more moody than ever. "You two saddle up and wait for us. I have to bring you both back to the castle."

Adam said nothing as he escorted Snow White out of the doctor's office and back outside. He made sure to get out quickly, but to remain gentle with her so as not to jar her. When they got outside He assisted her onto the horse, but he remained standing on the ground. For some odd reason he did not like the fact that Snow White told the doctor he was a prince; and a nephew of the Queen at that. He did not mind acting gentlemanly or princely towards Snow White, but it was not something he wanted the rest of the Realm to know about; especially since he was not meant to be in the Realm for very long or at all for that matter. With her calling him a prince it made him realize that he truly has spent far too much time in this Realm.

That was the conflicting part. He loved Apfel, he loved the sun, he loved . . . the people; oddly enough. There were things here that he could only experience here that he would never be able to experience in the Anti-Realm. In fact, that was what had made it so hard to go back each time. Adam was now at a point where it felt overly natural to be here and becoming more unnatural for him to be in the Anti-Realm. He couldn't decide if that were a good thing or not. It wasn't like he could just simply stay in Apfel forever; especially since he had a mission, a job, to do. A mission that required him to ensure that the Evil Queen got her Happy Ending. Her Happy Ending required not having Snow White in it which meant –

"Adam?" Snow White cooed softly. "Are you all right?"

His head snapped up to hers and worry was written across her face. Even with the tiniest of scratches on her forehead she still looked like a vision in the sunlight.

"I'm fine." He smiled for her; that was strangely becoming easier to do.

"You don't look fine." She frowned and her brows creased more. "You've said you were fine all day, but you look far from it."

"Just the lack of sleep." A yawn actually dawned on him at the word of sleep.

"I think this is a little bit more than just sleep." Her hands balled up into fists.

"Whatever could you mean?" He raised an eyebrow at her and tried to keep his voice even.

"Adam," He loved the way she said his name, "why don't you like being called a prince?"

"I'm sorry?" He could only blink at her. He could hardly comprehend the question she asked.

"You're very handsome." Her cheeks tinted a shade of pink. "You're very well-mannered, you're kind, you're honest, and you have every quality of a royal prince. I just don't understand why you don't like being called a prince."

His mouth was dry like he had swallowed too much poison and it took all the moisture from his mouth. There was an irritating thudding in his chest that flooded his ears and drowned out other noises. He wasn't kind. He wasn't well-mannered. He only had enough princely qualities to impress her when it was necessary. He was least of all honest, not as honest as she thought he was. If she knew why he was here, what his purpose was, what he was told to do to her she wouldn't look at him the same way.

Looking up into those watchful doe eyes Adam could see she was being serious in her questioning. She literally saw him as that, a prince. A knot began to form in his stomach. She wasn't gullible, she was just overly friendly. She wasn't stupid, she was very observant. She wasn't silly, she took everyone else into consideration before herself. She was the beautiful one. She was the kind one. She was the one that had every quality of being a royal princess. She deserved better than what he could provide her. The knot tightened to the point it hurt.

He did not deserve to be near her. He had no right to be anywhere near her. He wanted her, he wanted to protect that light, but he also wanted it for himself. His hands were poisoned, dirty, filthy, bloody, tainted; he had to keep them gloved so as not to taint her.

His head ached and the thudding in his chest made him fear that his heart was going to burst.

"Adam?" She placed her tiny hand on his gloved one. He stiffened.

"I do not deserve to be called a prince." He kept his gaze on the saddle where she could see the top of his head but not his face. He was overcome with the odd sense of wanting to vomit, to want to run, to want to hide, to wear a mask. This was shame. This heavy grievance of burden that intensified gravity was the utter shame. The shame of wanting her, but knowing he could never have her. The shame of having blood on his hands, but keeping them gloved so he could be beside her. The shame of knowing there were growing feelings that he could not understand, but knowing that he was supposed to kill her.

"I am not of royal birth." His hands balled into fists at his sides. "I am of hatred and everything dark. I am not a man that should have that entitlement for more than reason. I am not a prince, I'm not even a good pretend one. I don't even have the right to enjoy hearing you call me a prince."

"But you are a prince." She placed her hand on his hat and gently tipped it back so he would look at her. Those doe brown eyes were so sincere, so full of things he couldn't understand. It intensified the thudding and the gravity. "You don't have to be of royal birth. You're not full of hatred or everything dark; there is light in you."

"No." He grabbed her wrists and shook his head. He couldn't allow him to get sucked in and believe her. He hoped he could convey that message to her by looking at her, but her eyes never changed. Every so gently and slowly she slipped her wrists from his grasp and held his gloved hands.

"Adam, you are a prince." Her tiny hands shook as they held his large gloved ones. "You are my prince."

He could only stare at her as her words echoed back in his ears. The thudding turned into hammering. He felt hot, his face was burning. He couldn't look away from her, he didn't even want to look away from her. He wanted to touch her face and press his lips to those captivating red ones.

But he couldn't.

He would never be able to. Not as he was. He was a danger to her and her kingdom.

He stayed in place, for once not knowing what to do, where to move, where to go. Whether Snow White knew what her words actually did to him and made him feel or not, whatever he did or said at this moment could affect absolutely everything in their relationship.

"Hey you two, I didn't think you'd actually be waiting on us." Adam had never been so thankful to hear Frederick approach. He turned to see him carrying a less bloodied and messy Florian over his shoulders.

"You said you had to escort us back." Adam cleared his throat and though he still felt anxious, felt as though he could breathe easier.

"Well, get on the horse, it's time to go." Frederick put Florian on the horse and grabbed the horses reins to walk with it. Still not sure what to do about Snow White, Adam also grabbed the horse's reins and walked in step with Frederick. Frederick gave him a look and a raised eyebrow, but said nothing as they made their way back to the castle.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far!_

_Man is Adam killing me right now. He has not made this chapter nor the chapters to come very easy, but I think in the long run it will be just fine. What do you think? How did you feel about those doki doki moments? Let me know what you think!_

_I know that this was a shorter chapter, but there were a lot of emotions (at least on my end) that were wrapped up in this chapter that I hope were conveyed to y'all. I think it takes a lot for a person to know and to admit that he/she is not good enough for someone that they really care about/have strong emotions for. Surely you didn't think I was just going to give him the girl? No, no, no, that would be far too easy. As much as he wants her, he currently has more things pitted against him than Florian (for the moment) that he's really got to work out before things get good._

_Thank you for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter._


	26. Chapter 26

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.**

Chapter Twenty-six

It was the longest night that Adam had to endure and for the first time ever, he found himself missing the Anti-Realm. After bringing Snow White and Florian back to the castle the rest of the day's festivities were postponed until tomorrow since the villagers had to clean up the mess that Florian had made with his bear ride. It put the Queen in the most foul mood Adam had yet to see her in here in the Apfel Realm.

She had full blown up at him and scolded him like a child for disrupting the day's events, putting her people in danger, and being absent for so long. Adam was so surprised at her actions, though he relished watching Florian shrink back like the child he acted as, he was surprised that she showed that she cared about Apfel. He was very sure that it was apart of her act as her role as the Queen but she had so much passion behind it all that it was too good to be; real for Adam at least. Although she was different here in this Realm he could see that not much was different. She still had vampiric moments, she still had the same foul temper, and she was still devious in her planning. As much as he knew today's events with the fool riding the bear and causing a ruckus were not part of her plans, he could tell that she secretly wished that they were and that she was more than likely angry because Snow White returned mostly unscathed and still breathing.

She already warned him that she sent a letter to his father in recording the day's events and although she promised that she would momentarily avoid war with Franca, Florian needed to behave better as he was here to represent his country and his father and was doing a poor job of it. Adam would have been lying had he denied the fact he found Florian's loss of color in his complexion amusing. He nearly fainted and had to be assisted up the steps by Frederick; which Adam had already made a mental note to get the man something extra special for having to put up with Florian like he was.

Franca's puffy messenger went and coddled Florian upon seeing his dirty face to which Florian whined and went into dramatic detail of how Adam how unfairly and unjustly punched him in the face. Much to everyone's surprise, including Adam, was how Snow White had scolded Florian, though not entirely in defending Adam, about the bear and how it put so many people in danger including themselves. She even scolded him for the way he whined about his injuries after he allegedly endured worse from a dragon.

Adam was proud of her for that, but found himself struggling to catch her gaze, her attention or anything from her. She actually refrained from looking at Adam or speaking to him after their moment on the horse before arriving. Though it cut Adam to his core he could not blame her. She had spoken to him so sincerely and due to convenient circumstances Adam had avoided, though not completely rejected, responding to her words in that moment. Adam was overly conflicted upon the position that he was in on top of the irritating feeling of being cowardice that seemed to constantly mock him whenever he thought of approaching Snow White.

Not finding sleep easily Adam sat up in his bed and looked out the window at the moon. It was the first time he had seen the moon in the Apfel Realm. He had never realized that the moon could be beautiful. In the Anti-Realm it always had some sort of storm, and although it was constant night there the moon was a terrible presence there. It had a way of mocking him, reminding him that there would never be a new day, that nothing he did mattered because he belonged in a place of darkness because he was a villain. Despite its mocking face it was still beautiful, just like the Evil Queen.

The moon in Apfel was almost motherly, kind even, as it provided the brightest light on a clear night as if to provide peace and guidance to those awake and lost this evening. It had a soft glow to it that seemed to only want to provide a light in the darkness to help guide those lost to a safe haven. As Adam looked at this moon he could not help but think of Snow White. She was as innocently pale as the moon with that same kindness and warm glow to her that just drew people to her. Adam loved that quality of her but also wished to hide that quality as well. She drew too many of the wrong people to her, himself included, and he wanted nothing more than to protect her.

Adam was both awake and lost, lost in his thoughts and his ever changing and swirling emotions. Being here in Apfel caused both anxiety and excitement. He could see Snow White, but he had to deal with all of the problems of teaching her and protecting her that also involved him seeing the Evil Queen. He could see the sun and the promises of new days that came with them, but it hurt in such a terrible mocking way because as much as he wanted a change there was little he could do to change his physical ailments which simply guaranteed he would never get a Happy Ending. He frowned at that thought. He hated that thought, loathed it entirely. He had come too far to simply give up on his mission, to give up on himself. He'd be damned if he allowed himself to stay in this sorry pathetic cowardice act.

He threw the blankets from himself and stood up as quietly as he could. He glanced around the room and saw that the mirrors he had draped spare sheets over were still covered. It provided him little peace, which was why he was struggling to sleep as well as being overwhelmed with never ending thoughts. The thought of going to sleep knowing there would be a possibility of being watched was just too unnerving. He wanted to get back to the Anti-Realm, or even just to his quiet spot in the village. He stepped over to the small wardrobe and opened up the cabinet doors. He had very little in there and was relieved to see that his messenger bag was still there. He pulled the bag from the wardrobe, opened the flap from the messenger bag, and pulled out a deep brown encrusted in gold leather book.

He opened the book and flipped through the pages. He needed to find a portal spell to at least create between the castle and his house in the village. There were all kinds of spells that he came across as he flipped through the book: how to turn someone into a toad instead of a frog, he debated on trying this one on Florian; a reversal spell to change someone or something from one thing to another, Adam paused on this page and wondered if maybe he could somehow use it on himself; then there was a transfer spell where so long as someone held hands to touched something they could transfer powers or gain new sin like a tree's bar or a rock's rough skin. Despite Adam finding quite a few spells that amused him or caught his attention, there was no portal spell to be found. He snapped the book with a huff and a chuckle came from the large vanity mirror.

"Sounds like someone can't sleep." It was the Mirror's voice. "What could you possibly be doing awake here, boy?"

"What the hell do you want?" Adam hissed and turned his attention to the mirror. The mirror itself was still covered, which gave Adam little peace of mind, but he could still keep the Mirror from over prying in his private business.

"Ah, respectful as usual." The Mirror chuckled in its droning voice. "At least you still have manners, perhaps Snow White is a good influence on you after all."

Adam said nothing but there was a spike of heat and instant thirst for blood. He hated that Mirror. He absolutely hated that Mirror.

"Oooh, did I strike a nerve?" The Mirror was far too amused. "Well get over it, if you want to survive this and you want the girl to survive too you'll put your foolish pride behind you and listen."

"Since when the hell have you ever wanted to help me?" Adam growled, his hands balled into fists. He could feel his toxicity levels growing.

"I'm aware that you have broken several mirrors and have even thrown my main Mirror out a third story window down the mountain, boy." The Mirror droned. "Unlike the Queen, I am aware of much more things that are to happen in the future due to her immature and selfish mistakes. You are the key that has been changing the story; it's been entertaining to watch progress."

"So what is in this for you?" Adam crossed his arms. "You would never help me unless there were something in it for you. Not that you would actually help me."

"At least now you're aware that 'm here to more or less cut a deal with you." The Mirror chuckled. "In case you haven't noticed, which you more than likely haven't because of how suspicious you've been of me, I have been turning the Queen's gaze as far from you and your ongoing affair with Snow White."

"There is no affair." His words were cold, but they poked that growing jealous fire within him.

"Oh, that's right, there is no affair going on because you can't touch her. My mistake." Though Adam couldn't see the face of the Mirror, he knew the damn mask was smirking at him. "Not that I would understand that or anything since I'm a floating head."

"Are you trying to say that I owe you?" Adam snarled. "After the hell I went through for the first few accidents then all the years of punishment of shoving you off the cliff, I don't owe you shit!"

"I never realized that that mouth of yours gets filthy when you get temperamental." Another overly amused chuckle. "Weren't you the one telling Florian to keep his mouth shut because foul words didn't make a gentleman?"

"You heard?" All the heat and fire froze and prickled down his spine.

"Please, that pompous fool is so vain he keeps a compact mirror in his breast pocket." The Mirror rolled its eyes. "How else do you think the Queen knew exactly what happened and knew exactly what didn't happen in the field with the bear? Those hunters that went down there to 'rescue' you all had no idea of the situation."

"You snitch -"

"Before you start with the uncreative insults and out-lashing words, do keep in mind that if I had a physical body, I would be in your court in all of this." The Mirror grew more exasperated and bored as the conversation continued. "If you continue to hold your petty grudge against me this is going to be an even longer process to go through with and it could very well damage your story."

"How do you expect me yo trust you?" Adam raised his voice. "Anything you reveal of the future changes because something gets revealed and something gets altered! You've already told the old hag that I am not a traitor, that I do kill Snow White, and that she gets her Happy Ending! How the hell do you expect me to believe you?"

"Are you really going to be this fickle?" He huffed. "You are truly a foolish boy, boy. But you are not as foolish as that rotten prince. Do be careful and keep an eye on him. He's too much of a coin that is easily flipped and will be whatever side lands up. Even though the little fool is pretentious and beyond being a nuisance, remember that it is better to keep your enemies closer than your friends. It's easier to stab them before they stab you in the back that way."

"That's the only reason why I have allowed myself to stay in the castle this evening." Adam crossed his arms.

"Keeping them close and staying in the enemy's camp are totally two different things, boy." The Mirror's voice grew agitated. "Quit interrupting me, boy, I want to sleep as much as you do; and from what I've heard today you need more sleep than the dead."

Adam did his best to refrain from making any smart comments. He knew what was good for himself and letting the Mirror speak would be best. As much as he hated to admit it, he was exhausted and really did need sleep.

"I know you have grudges. I know why you have the grudges. I can't say I'm very apologetic to some of the reasoning behind the grudges, whereas there are other times that I do feel apologetic." The Mirror spoke in a considerably soft voice. "What hasn't killed you made you stronger and will make you the strongest prince -"

"I am not a prince." The heat was quickly building in him again.

"Just shut up." The Mirror raised his voice. "I'm far from any mood to entertain your stubbornness this evening. It is far past midnight and it is not the time! Watch who you befriend boy, and whatever you do, do not give into the temptation of your growing desires. I tell you this because depending on how strong your will is, it will affect us all in both this Realm and the Anti-Realm."

"Still just a ploy to save your own face, is it?"

"Do you think I like being trapped in this mirror boy?" The Mirror roared to life. "Seeing every corner of the world through my one way windows, forever trapped behind glass to have colossal power and having very little opportunities to use it? The moment my windows get destroyed, so do I."

Suddenly the elder Frederick's words began to ring I his ear. All those warnings about the Mirror being the one to put all the temptations and ideas in the Queen's head.

"You've done everything up to now to get a body?" Adam assumed as he put the jumbled pieces together.

"At one point in time yes." The Mirror answered far too honestly. "Why else do you think the Queen was able to successfully create you? You were designed after everything I desired and what would be desired by others. Your body was to be mine. The Queen had collected enough souls, enough blood, and had used all of that hatred to create you; you were perfect until spoke and had your own thoughts and soul."

Adam felt nauseous. Hearing that made his tongue shrivel up and bile build up in his throat. His hand went to his mouth to keep him from vomiting.

"The toxicity?" Adam looked to the covered Mirror. "What was the point of that?"

"to be untouchable, but desired." The Mirror answered simply. "Hair as black as ravens, eyes darker than the darkest darkness, pale skin as white as bone that caused death as it was born from death. Yes you were to be my vessel. Then you had a brain to think with and a heart that pumped blood and a soul that has kept you moving. You never would listen to me, so I could never could control you. The Queen could, for whatever reason, get you to do her bidding; a mother's affections I suppose."

"Do. Not. Call. That hag, my mother." Adam put his hands over his ears

"You were born of her hatred and the betrayed heart of her only lover." The Mirror chuckled.

"Shut up." Adam shook his head and shut his eyes shut.

"You will never be able to deny that she is your mother." The Mirror continued.

"Shut up!" His heart hammered in his ears.

"You can try, but I witnessed your birth."

"Shut up!" He was getting louder and he glared at the vanity.

"Despite the amount of times I've tried, you would never betray her." The Mirror grew louder.

"Shut up!" Adam looked around the room he needed something to shut the Mirror up.

"No matter how many times that woman beat you, whipped you, burned you, enhanced those poisons in your skin you have been forever loyal to her. And you always will be." The Mirror's chuckle grew louder, faster. "You will never betray her and you will kill -"

"I said shut up!" Adam grabbed the nearest chair, and like a Roman discus champion threw the chair at the vanity. It instantly shattered. The Mirror's voice was no longer there. It was finally quiet. There was only broken glass left.

He hadn't realized how heavy his breathing was, his chest heaved as he panted. He fell to his knees and allowed his bare hands to touch the cold floor. The cold soothed the fire. He had not realized he was sweating, it had intensified his heat and his toxicity levels. He wanted nothing more than to strip and lie on the floor. He started to unbutton his shirt when a knock came at the door.

Brows furrowed in confusion he pushed himself up to a wobbly stand, but that bob of curls poked her head in the door before he could answer it.

"Adam?" She cooed in a whisper. "Are you still awake?"

"Snow White -" His knees gave out from under him and he fell to the floor.

"Oh my goodness!" She carefully closed the door behind her and rushed over to Adam. "Adam are you all right? You're sweating and -"

"Please." He held his hand up to stop her as he forced himself to sit up. His other hand was hiding his face, he couldn't bear to have her see him like this. He wanted to her leave the room so she wouldn't breathe in the fumes. "Please, don't -"

"What happened?" She stood before him, hovering above him. "There is quite a mess here. Did you -"

"Yes." He held his hand tighter to his eyes. "Yes, I did that."

"You broke the mirror?" Adam couldn't tell if she were surprised or confused. "Why?"

"Don't like mirrors." Adam's voice didn't feel lie his own. His throat was dry and he wanted to hide.

"Ah, I see." She sounded as if that answered everything. "I understand. I don't like the mirrors either. I don't break them though, I just try to hide them. . ."

Adam slowly moved his hand and stole a glance at Snow White. She was in a simple faded white cotton nightgown that reached her ankles She was staring at the shattered glass on the floor with such a faded and scarred look, as if she herself wished she would have shattered a mirror instead of suffer dealing with one.

"It's past midnight, what are you doing here?" His voice cracked and was barely a whisper. She turned her face to his and those doe brown eyes were full of that same warm compassion as the moon.

"I came to check on you." She crouched down to his level and held eye contact. "You said you weren't sleeping well, so I thought that if I made you your own pillow that you would be able to sleep." He glanced behind her and saw a dark blue patchwork feather pillow. "Had I known that it was the mirrors I would have done something sooner."

"I-I'll be fine. " He finally managed to get his breathing under control. "You shouldn't be here. It's not proper for a princess to be in a man's room."

"You're burning up." She completely disregarded his comment. She instead proceeded to pull out a folded handkerchief, one of his, and gently dabbed at his brow. He was momentarily mesmerized by her actions, but he remembered that he was sweating, which meant his toxins were in the air, which meant she was in danger. He went to grab her wrist, but saw that his hands were not gloved. He retracted his hand and turned his face from her.

"Please stop." He was practically begging her to stop. "You really shouldn't -"

"It's a skin condition, isn't it?" She sat back on her heels and held the handkerchief much too tightly in her hands. "That's why you don't like to be touched. Or is it that you don't like it when I touch you?"

"What?" He could only blink at her. She was far too observant for her own good. "How did you -?"

"You always, always, always, wear gloves." She looked so sad despite the smile she had on her face. "You always wear several layers of clothes, even on hot days to the point you must be boiling. You rarely accept my touch unless it is on your elbow or a part of your body that is heavily layered. You never touch water or wet things unless it is to help me hand wet clothes. I simply assumed it was a skin condition."

"That's one way of putting it." He nodded and dragged his hand down the back of his neck.

"Does it hurt?" She tilted her head in such a curious way.

"Rarely." He sighed. "I've gotten used to it over the years."

"It's that bad?" Her eyes widened.

"For you. . ." He chewed on this inside of his cheek. "And for others."

"Is it contagious?" Her brow furrowed in such a cute way.

"Not exactly. . ." He had never realized how hard it was to explain to her that he was literally a walking ticking poison time bomb.

"Is it leprosies?" Her eyes grew wide. Adam was actually impressed she knew of that one. "I hear people saying that is what some of the merchants from the deserts have and that's why they don't like to buy from them."

"No, I don't have leprosies." He chuckled feeling rather embarrassed. "I have something that only one other person before me has had. And he died. . ."

"D-Died?" He heard the rise in her voice and he instantly regretted saying that. "It's that bad?"

"To everyone else but me." He just fell rather defeated and let his shoulders slump. He looked down at his bare hands and hated to see them. He had calmed down and so had his sweating, but he was still worried about his toxicity level.

"Is that why you have such a sweet smell?" She blushed as she asked the question and Adam felt heat return to his face as he looked at her.

"'Sweet smell'?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You have the faintest smell of apple spice." Her cheeks grew pinker. "Like ground cinnamon and cooked apples right before you put it in the pie."

"You think I smell like an apple pie?" He couldn't help but laugh. It was so cute of her, despite how deadly of a sign that was.

"Y-Yes." She suddenly pulled the dark blue patchwork pillow in front of her and clutched it tightly as her ears turned red.

"I don't mind smelling like that." He had been told that though it was a sweet smell there was also yeast to it as though he were a walking apple cider or beer. "It's not the worst thing I've been told that I smell like."

"Adam. . ." Her voice was small and her tiny hands trembled slightly as she still clutched his sweat covered handkerchief and the patchwork pillow.

"Yes?"

"Will you let me touch your hand?" She stared at his hands and Adam had quickly balled them up into fists.

"I really don't think that's a good idea." He shook his head at her. "I've caused enough trouble tonight. I don't need to accidentally hurt you too."

"Will you hold it out for me to see it then?" She hugged the pillow tighter.

"Why?" Hi brow furrowed again.

"Well, I've never seen your hands before, and well." She pursed her lips. "I don't know if I'll get the chance to see them again without your gloves on."

"They're just hands. . ." He couldn't fathom why she wanted to see them. "But if you truly want to see them . . ." He slowly with trembling hands un-balled his fists, relaxed his fingers, and carefully held his hands out to her. She scooted closer to properly examine them. Her doe brown eyes were scrutinizing them, as if trying to commit them to memory. He wasn't sure why she was obsessed with his hands, but he allowed her to look at them and slowly turned them over so she could see them in their full naked ungloved-ness.

He was taking his hands back when she suddenly latched onto the right one and held it firmly between her tiny ones. He instantly tried to jerk it away from her, but she jerked it back.

"Snow White, you mustn't!" He felt the heat of panic spike again and tried to remove his hand from her, but she simply would not let go.

"But why?" She sounded so exasperated and held his hand still. "I don't see how this is supposed to be bad for me!"

Though he hated to deny her of her requests, he did not want to put her in danger. He still tried to slip his hand from her, but she kept firm. Adam held his breath. He did not smell the terrible scent of burning flesh, nor did he hear her shrieking back in pain. She continued to hold his hand and examine it. His heart pounded and he fought the urge of taking his hand back. He had no idea how to feel. She was holding his hand, examining it, touching his bare skin.

"They're much softer than what I thought they would be. . ." She murmured and traced her tiny fingers in the lines of the palms of his hand. The new sensation sent a shiver down his spine. This was his first physical touch. "You do so much with them, and they're so big! I just expected them to be rougher or something . . ."

Adam dared not move, dared not speak, dared not even breathe for the fear that should he do anything he would scald her, harm her, kill her. He just watched as she continued to examine his hand then proceed to do the boldest thing only the foolish do. She lined her wrist up with his and proceeded to touch her palm to his, then with her other hand curled his longer fingers over her bare hand, caging it in his hand. Her hands were so small, or perhaps his were so large, that her fingers stopped at the top of the palm where his fingers joined the rest of his hand. His fingers curled over her entire hand. His hand had a growing warmth that crept up his arm and made his heart hammer.

"Wow. . ." She murmured, truly amazed. "I don't know what I was expecting, I've seen your hands with gloves and already knew how big they were. . .But this is incredible."

"How are you doing this?" He asked in honest pure wonder. No one. Absolutely no one has ever been able to do this.

"I think I might have suffered from your skin condition once before. . ." She smiled warmly as she uncurled his hand from hers and carefully placed his hand on his knee. His hand felt cold. "I was little, and it wasn't long after my step mother had moved into the castle. I went through her things and broke a bottle of something when she wasn't in the room. I tried to clean it up without telling anyone and whatever it was really hurt my hands. It was from my hands to elbows, and my knees to my toes."

"Knees and toes?" He questioned.

"I was on my hands and knees trying to clean it up." She ran her hand through her hair and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I remember that the cloth burned or melted and that I fell asleep, I probably fainted from the smell. And when I woke up I had bandages up my arms and legs. I wasn't allowed to leave my room for almost a month!"

"I cannot believe it. . . " As if he were not already confused enough as it was, now that bubble of hope was trying to swell inside of him again. He looked down at his hands then to hers. He studied her tiny hands, making sure he didn't see any fresh burns or marks on her tiny hardworking hands. His hand went to his forehead to prop it up and he looked at her, trying to see if she were hiding some sort of pain or discomfort; but there was none.

"A-Adam." She cleared her throat and looked him in the eye. "I know this is very forward of me, but would you like to come down to my room?"

"I beg our pardon?"

"It's almost one in the morning and you are beyond sleep deprived." She stated rather rushed. "When I came upstairs to check up on you, I heard yelling and a crash and walked in to see your mirror shattered and you in a pile on the floor. I don't think you sleeping here is going to be much of an option for the evening."

"And your room would be better?" He raised a brow at her in disbelief.

"I don't have mirrors in my room and I have only small window that allows both the moon and the sun in." She smiled so sweetly at him. It both calmed him and warmed him. "I'll more than likely be awake before you anyways since I still get up and do my chores -"

"Snow White." He slowly took one of her hands and gave it a squeeze. "As much as I would like that, I can't." It killed him to say those words. "It would not look good for you if for some reason we were caught in your room. I refuse to be a bad reflection on you. I will not sully your title, even if I am tired."

"You can't sleep in this room." She argued and squeezed his hand back. "I won't ask you to come to my room, but I do ask that you come to one of the guest rooms."

"I can move to a guest room." He nodded at that and could feel the exhaustion growing the longer he sat there.

"Then let's go." She hopped up and pulled him up with her. "Let's go while the moon is still high and you can get as much sleep as possible. I'll even make sure that no one wakes you in the morning so you can be fully rested!"

Pulling him by his hand, she led him from his towering room in the West wing all the way down a series of halls that forked off right before going to the East wing. She led him down a different path were the servants' quarters were. Although she had said it was a guest room, she was leading him to the servants' quarters, not that he minded. Now that the world was opening up in so many different ways for him he would let her drag him wherever she wanted so long as she never let go of his hand.

She suddenly slowed to a stop then replaced her hand with his pillow. The stood between two wooden doors that were only six feet apart from each other.

"This one on the right is my room." She whispered quickly. "I had to clean that room the other day, but there are not any bed sheets on it. I at least need to get you a blanket so you don't catch a chill. Just wait here for a moment."

Not giving him much of a choice she disappeared into her room, but left the door cracked. Respecting her privacy and almost guarding it on the off chance that someone should come, he turned his back to her door and looked to the door to the room he would be borrowing for the evening. Just as she promised she wasn't gone for long and had a large blanket, much to his surprise, bundled up in her arms. She quickly moved past him, opened the door, and went in first. She went to the bed and flicked out the down feather comforter she had over the mattress covered mattress.

"Luckily I put down a mattress cover." She smoothed out the blanket then folded back the top, as if to invite Adam into the bed. "Everything is clean, I promise. I cleaned it this morning."

Adam quietly padded his way over and set his new pillow on the bed. It looked more comfortable than any cloud, even if everything were patchwork.

"Thank you, Snow White." He smiled and a yawn followed after as he was finally able to relax.

"You're welcome." Her own yawn escaped her and she smiled at him with watery eyes. "Goodnight, Adam. Sweet dreams."

She tip toed her way out of the room and softly closed the door behind her, making sure that it clicked without actually letting the door make the click noise. Once Adam was sure she was gone and he heard her own door close, he flopped ungracefully onto the bed, pulled the sheets and the pillow to him and felt as though he had been involved in the most gentle embrace that smelled ever so intoxicatingly relaxing. Fresh lavender from the fields, daisies blowing in the wind, sunshine's kiss on fresh linen and the softest brush of apple blossoms. Adam could not help but feel as though the sheets smelled like Snow White.

Finally in a secluded room with no mirrors, no windows, and actual silence all around him Adam was able to finally relax and allowed sleep to take him.

* * *

The Evil Queen

The night was still young, early even, and Grimhilde paced the floors of her room. Her hair was down and fell down to her waist and she brushed it as she paced. She could not figure out why the day's events went the way they went, though she could not entirely complain, and why they couldn't have gone better. She could not have foreseen that that foolish prince Florian would have ridden a bear throughout the town, least of all could she had seen him whisking Snow White off into the woods; she only wished he would have had some horrible accident that would have killed them both or at least just Snow White. She frowned and glared at her reflection in the mirror. She had the day planned out to the perfect moments. After shopping they were going to go see the florists, she was going to order some for the castle's centerpieces and special arrangements for graces, then they were going to go on that lovely picnic in the field where she hoped the Shadows had actually precured a bear to possess so she could send Snow White to go get her fresh flowers and be mauled by a bear.

Her thin long fingers tightened on her silver hairbrush and she began to grit her teeth. No, the day did not go as planned. Not only did Prince Florian change her plans, but Adam, the boy who swore loyalty to her the queen, went to Snow White's rescue without a second thought in the world. Adam went running after her and saved her and brought her back alive. Frederik had even taken his hunters into the woods to save them, but things had already been taken care of. By the time the Mirror had told her what had happened, she had already been thinking about what sort of punishment to ensue to her loyal traitor, but then the Mirror told her she shouldn't; and she didn't. She now had this wild streak in her, probably her thirst for blood or her ever growing thirst for revenge, where she wanted nothing more to do than to lash out all of her feelings onto something, someone. She wanted blood, she wanted to cause pain, she wanted -

A knock came at the door and Frederick walked in. He stood at the door, hesitating on further entering her chambers. She did not turn to see him, she merely continued to watch him through her mirror as she brushed her hair. "What a surprise." She mused and kept her eyes locked with his own. "What brings you here, Frederick?"

"You let your hair down. . ." He blinked slowly, as if he needed to take it all in for fear of never seeing it again.

"I do take care of it, Frederick." She set her brush down and combed her fingers through it. Her heart picked up a beat.

"It's just been so long since I've seen it down." He noted and ran his hand through his own hair.

"Frederick." She turned to him, still combing her fingers through her hair, and looked him deeply in the eyes. "What brings you here?"

"You did." His awe had been shaded by a guarded look she had come to know far too well in her time in Apfel.

"I don't remember summoning you." She raised an eyebrow, almost teasingly, at him. She could feel the smirk growing on her face, so she quickly looked down pretending she had a not that wasn't there that she needed to see to remove. Once she controlled her face again she looked to Frederick, waiting for his answer.

"You may not have sent someone to retrieve me." He did not move from his spot, and he seemed to be struggling to stay there. He stood so rigidly, waiting for permission before springing. "The bond summoned me. . ."

He stood straighter and she liked the wild look that grew in those bottle green eyes as he continued to look at her. She wore a simple thin strapped low v neck silk indigo nightgown that went to the floor. She had her legs crossed at the knee and the ankles and she carefully picked up the fabric to adjust herself to keep the growing heat from causing her to fidget.

"I still don't remember summoning you. . ." She leaned on the arm chair so that the low v neck line would shift just a hair lower. She watched as his hands balled into fists, but then he did something unexpected. He shut his eyes tightly, fighting the bond, and looked away from her.

"I can't -" He sounded strained. "I just can't Hilde. . . Not after what happened today."

"I told you that I did not plan that to happen." All playfulness dissipated and a frown returned to her face. She straightened in her seat and took on her role as Queen. "Though I found it amusing, I did not plan for that idiot to ride a bear and disrupt everything. He disrupted my own plans!"

"You can't honestly expect me to believe that." A different fire was in his eyes as he stared her down. "You can't expect me to just believe what you said after what I heard, you summoning those Shadows to plan things for the picnic. . ."

"Oh, so you heard, did you?" She crossed her arms and sent him a challenging look. "Well despite what you think, I didn't cause today's events. I didn't even know that the Russians brought bears! I sent my Shadows to the mountains. Nothing I planned for today happened the way I wanted!"

"I know." His voice was so cold. "Hilde, you can't keep doing this."

"Doing what, Frederick?" She hissed as she marched over to him.

"Going so far in the depths of the darkness." He looked so pained, it caused pain in her chest. "Hilde, I swore an oath to you that I would be your right hand man, I would be your loyal knight, that I would follow you to ends of the Earth, to the darkest parts of world. I meant what I swore, I even made a blood oath with you to ensure my loyalty to you."

He showed her his left hand. It was faint, but there was an 'x' crossed on his ring finger that had a line that went down to his wrist. The finger that had the closest connection to the heart. She had one similar on her own left hand. Her finger tingled as she stared at his and wondered if he felt it.

"I am aware." She clenched her hands tightly in her elbows as she crossed her arms. "Are you trying to tell me that you want to break it?"

"Of course not." His brow furrowed deeply as he frowned at her. "No, Hilde, I just want you to stop what you're doing."

"And what is that?"

"The plotting of Snow White's death, the talking to the Mirror, the sinking into darkness that you do everyday you take someone's life, their blood, or torture them!" He grabbed her arms and held her at arms length. "I am begging you, Hilde, please just stop it. You are the Queen! You don't have to take orders from anyone, you don't have any other threats! You can be happy! You don't have to give into the temptations of that forsaken Mirror!"

"I know I am the Queen." She removed his hands from her arms and took two steps back away from him. Her nostrils flared as she glared at him. "I do not take orders from anyone, including you!"

"I am not ordering you to do anything!" He held his hands out to her. "I am begging you, pleading you to stop sinking into the darkness. You don't need the power, you don't need to give so much of yourself away, you don't have to give in to -"

"But I do!" She raised her voice and took another step away from him.

"Why?" His voice cracked as he took one step closer to her. "Why do you insist on doing this? You are the most beautiful woman in the world. You are the most majestic queen this world has eve known. You are one of the smartest single queens in all the world and you are wanting to throw it away all for the sake of what? Power? Infinite beauty? Immortality?"

"No." She shut her eyes and shook her head.

"Then what is it?" He took another step closer, his voice sounded strained.

"Another oath. . ." She kept her gaze even with his. "One that is to the Mirror."

"What could it possibly be?" He stood straight and gulped as he looked at her. "What could that forsaken thing possibly want?"

"A body." She said quieter than she meant.

"Whatever for?" He looked so confused. "He's a mirror, it has some of the most dangerous power known to man and it wants a body?"

"I don't know what for." She huffed. "But it was the deal I made when I made the oath with him in the beginning."

"What body is he looking for?"

"He hasn't been very satisfied with the bodies of the men here in Apfel. He wasn't even a fan of the previous king's body, nor my step-father's body." She looked away from him. She couldn't look at him with this subject. "So. . .I have had to design and make one."

"You're making him a body?" His eyes widened and he stayed where he was. "Hilde, you can't be serious."

"I'm deathly serious, Frederick." She pinched the insides of her elbows. "I've been collecting ingredient and pieces that he's required for years."

"You've been collecting ingredients?" He repeated in a horrified whisper. "Hilde, you have to stop." He went to her and held her by her elbows. "You have to stop this, Hilde. If you keep going down this road there will be no coming back!"

"There is no coming back for me, Freddy." She withdrew from him again and stared at the floor. "I've come too far. I haven't been able to get the alchemy values right yet, but I get closer each time I try. I get farther and farther each time."

"Then stop it." He went to her again. "Hilde, you can't keep doing this. It's taking your own light away from you. It is killing me to see you like this."

"If I don't make him a body then he'll kill me, Freddy." She put her hand on his chest to keep him at bay. His hand went to hers and held them tightly over his heart.

"Then you can have mine." He used his other hand to make her look at him. "If it means you can stop, then you can have mine. Use it for whatever -"

"I can't." Her voice cracked and her eyes burned. "You don't get it." She shook her head as she looked up at his beautiful face. "He wanted your body in the beginning, but I . . .I couldn't give you up, Frederick. I couldn't let him have you. . ." She took a deep breath and tried to push him away, but he didn't budge. "So I swore to make him one instead. At first he wanted my first born, but then after making the oath he realized I could not have children, so he wanted me to make him one or find a body that he could possess."

"Hilde." He spoke softly to her. It shook her heart, made it quake within her, but she couldn't bear to look at him. "Hilde, look at me."

It wasn't a demand, but a pleading request. It was so sweet and sincere that she couldn't help but look at him. Those deep bottle green eyes looked into her own lighter green eyes with such emotion that she couldn't place what it was that he was feeling. Fear? Admiration? No, it was something deeper, stronger in them that was something that secretly frightened her.

"Hilde, please, let me help you." He pulled her closer and snaked his arm around her waist, anchoring her there. Her stomach quivered in uncertain anticipation. "Please. I will do anything to help you, to have you stop this so you no longer have to. Please, let me take care of things. I can save you."

Her heart fluttered like a humming bird. She looked up into those eyes, those confident sweet eyes that promised her the world. She wanted to believe in those eyes, in him, that he could protect her, that he could save her from the nightmare she swore her life too. As much as she wanted, even almost truly believed in him, to really believe in him she couldn't. She had killed too many, drank from half as many, had dirtier hands than even the two hooligans she hired to defile Snow White. No, she was too far into the darkness. As much as she wanted to leave the nightmare she was becoming she didn't want to shackle Frederick anymore than what she already had. He swore his life away to her, he swore fealty to her, he swore everything, every chance at life every opportunity so something different, he swore everything to her. She had tried multiple times to give him a mission that would tempt him into leaving her, and as much as it would have pained her, she always wished he would do something for himself and finally be happy.

She closed her eyes and took a deep inhale. She pushed against him and he slowly released her; though she could tell he didn't want to.

"Frederick, I can't." She tore her gaze away from him and took another step back, another step out of his reach. "I- I-"

"Hilde, do you know why I have been here with you for as long as I have?" He stayed in his spot and watched her carefully.

"Please don't." She flinched and closed her eyes. "Please, Frederick, please, I beg you not to say what it is that you are wanting to say."

"If you know." He took two steps closer and closed the distance between them. "Then just let me take care of things. I know you don't believe that I am the strongest man alive or that I am even capable of anything when it comes to magic. I have my own tricks and ways of doing things. I can get you out of this. Please, Hilde."

"Frederick." She shook her head and closed her eyes and had her hands on his chest ready to shove him away. If she looked at those eyes they would make her weak. She couldn't afford to be weak, not in this moment. She couldn't make him clean up her mess of mistakes.

"Hilde, my love, don't tell me no." His voice pleaded with her heart, and if she opened her eyes he would win. She shook her head, refusing to look at him. "Please, Hilde, I love you."

"I can't, Frederick." She pushed him away, hard. "I won't! I can't have you do this! I won't let you!"

"Hilde -" Those green eyes were furious but still pleading with her, fighting with her.

"NO." She pushed him again, closer to the door. "Get out. Get out! Get out! Get out, get out!" She yelled pushing him closer to the door. He said nothing and let her push him back. She dared to look at them, her eyes burned as she did. She wanted to cry, for the first time in years she wanted to cry. He knew it, he stood firm, just barely. He caught her arm, yanked her forward, and pressed his mouth to hers.

Their mouths became one in a fiery passion that demanded, not requested, her attention. He made her weak; she loved that and she hated that. His other hand went to the small of her back to pull her closer. She raised her hands to pound on his chest, but he easily caught them and held her against him. He wouldn't release her, instead he only further kissed her making her melt, her knees going weak, until they were both sinking to the floor. She tried to bite his lips to get him to stop, but he only bit her back and that anticipation in her stomach built up again.

She had to fight the urges though. She would not allow him to make her weak, not like this. She couldn't give into him like this. She freed one of her hands from his hold and pressed it over his mouth to stop him. He opened his eyes and with an angry furrowed brow looked at her, but kissed her hand. Her hand tingled with the kisses and the occasional sucking.

"I demand that you stop." Her voice was as weak as her heart as she sat in his embrace.

"You demand that I stop, huh?" He brought her other hand up to his lips and kissed each individual finger. "I refuse." She could only blink at him. "I refuse to allow you to do this on your own. I tried to do it sweetly like you used to like it, but I can see that I can't be that way anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Her brow furrowed and she was able to wiggle out of his lap.

"I can't let you simply do what you want anymore, Hilde." He spoke with such determination that it stirred something within her. "I tried do to it your way, but I can't do that anymore. I'm going to start doing things my way; whether you like it or not."

"Are you defying me?" She couldn't help the glare and disbelief in her voice as she watched him smirk at her.

"No, I am going to protect you like I always should have." He kissed her knuckles, then suddenly scooped her up in his arms. "I'm going to start doing things the way I know that I need to save you from both the Mirror and yourself."

He stood and carried her over to her bed and very ungracefully dropped her onto it. Much to her displeasure he did not join her in the bed, but hovered over her, his arms trapping her on the bed sheets.

"No matter how strong you are, I am not going to let you do this on your own anymore." He smirked down at her. Those green eyes challenging her in a way that only he could get away with. It stirred something within her and even caused heat to come to her face as she glared up at him. "I don't care if you want to punish me, torture me, or even threaten me. I have had it up to here, Grimhilde. I refuse to allow you to go any farther in the darkness. I won't let you do as you please anymore. I will save you, whether you want me to or not."

He quickly planted a soft kiss on her forehead before stepping away from her and leaving her room. She sat up and watched him leave feeling both unsatisfied and excited that he dared to challenge her. Her heart quivered in her chest and for the first time since she was a young girl she felt truly unnerved and looked forward to whatever it was Frederick had planned.

* * *

Frederick

Frederick stormed away from Grimhilde's room as fast as he could. She almost had him wrapped around her thin fingers again, he almost gave into her again. The throbbing in his pants wasn't helping his thoughts or his situation, but for once he was actually strong enough to resist her. Whether she had meant to or not, she summoned him through their bond and much to his shame he came to her beck and call. As much as he hated to admit it he wouldn't have minded giving into her desires, but he was still cross with her after today's events. He could not simply continue to give her what she wanted, as if she did nothing wrong.

Even if the day's events were not her doing, she still had something planned and he had to make sure that they did not go to the picnic in the mountains. It was the only lead he had and the only thing he could do to start preventing her from sinking further in darkness.

"Well, well, well, look who finally started taking his role as a knight seriously." The Mirror's voice chuckled in the small compact mirror he always carried on him.

"This is all your fault!" He snapped as he stopped and pulled the mirror out of his pocket. "You're the one that started all of this!"

"Only after she asked for my help." He rolled his eyes and sneered at him. "Yes, all of this is my fault, but this tome you actually were able to grow a pair and reclaim that strong backbone of yours to actually try to change things."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The boy is very good at keeping tight lipped about things." He snorted.

"Boy?" He raised his eyebrow in confusion. "You mean Adam?"

"I can't say too much or it will ruin the things to come." The Mirror supplied. "But Adam is the key to everything now. As of this point even I have little knowledge of how the future will turn out."

"What does that even mean?"

"Oh, it means both a lot and not very much." The Mirror chuckled. "All that matters now is the story that everyone once knew is about to seriously change. For the good, for the bad, it is still too soon for me to see how it will all end."

"You're not making any sense you stupid glass!" IT was taking everything within Frederick not to smask the mirror.

"All in good time, Knight." He chuckled. "All in good time, but for you it looks like you won't have the horrible death you once had."

"Horrible death?" His hands began to tremble.

"So long as you continue to have a strong backbone, you won't have to worry about much, Knight." The Mirror answered even more vaguely. "Just remember, if you want to protect a future you so desperately crave, it will take great strength and great sacrifice."

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!_

_So, things are getting heated as well as really moving. The story has decided to take me in a few twists and turns around the bend, but I think things are quickly moving from what is a Good Ending to a Happy Ending for some of the characters._

_So for those of you who have stuck around this long, thank you so much! I would actually like to consider this my halfway point. All of the important characters have been introduced and some interesting things are about to happen. Please continue to leave me reviews and telling me what you think of the story so far._

_Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/ SarahtheWriter._


	27. Chapter 27

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

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Chapter Twenty-Seven

FLORIAN

The night was long, the sun was bright, and overall Florian's face would not stop hurting. Breathing hurt, sleeping hurt, even being angry hurt. The doctor said that his nose was fine and that it was just bruised, but the amount of pain that his face was in made him believe that his nose was truly broke. Every time he thought about Snow White, the doctor, and Adam his face would heat up and contort into a glare which in would scrunch his nose and made tears run from his eyes.

Between the lack of sleep, the withheld anger from yesterday and the pain in his face, Florian wanted nothing more than to stay inside and hide away from the day. He knew that his beautiful face had been tarnished and would not be suitable for wooing gullible fair maidens into his bed any time soon. Finding that staring at the ceiling did nothing more than irritate his already aching nose, Florian sat up and went to the mirror.

The bridge between his nose and eyebrows was so swollen his face looked as flat as a shovel. On top of being swollen his nose was a deep purple that spread out into red as it went towards his cheeks. It looked as though he had been slammed against a tree instead of punched in the face with a fist. His growing distaste for Adam left a bitter and iron taste in his mouth, and much to his chagrin he was aware that Adam could probably do more than what he had already threatened to do. As of this point, however, irritating him is just too sweet of an opportunity to pass up; especially if he can woo Snow White into wanting to marry him. He glared at his reflection. No girl would want to marry a shovel faced guy like him.

"Trying to cover this up is going to be hard." He hissed and cursed under his breath as he delicately tried to touch his face. Just thinking of touching the tender skin made him whimper in pain. Touching the red and purple spots on his face made him grimace and made him hurt even more. He pulled out his compact mirror and applicator and tried to gently dab some foundation onto his face. It made his face sting.

"Touching it is only going to make things worse, Prince Florian." A voice droned in the room.

"Who's there?" He jumped and waved his applicator as if it were a weapon. "Show yourself!"

"You royals are all the same." A green mask appeared in the mirror and rolled its empty eye sockets at Florian.

"What the hell!" He shrieked as he fell back and hit his head hard on the marble floor.

"Prince Florian, you of all people should know that such language is a far cry from winning any woman, fair maiden or princess to your chambers." He raised a bored eyebrow at him. "To get on with things, I shall introduce myself. I am the Magic Mirror."

"You can't be serious." He gawked and shook his head in disbelief. "This is dark magic!"

"Just because I'm made of magic doesn't mean that I am all dark." The Mirror chuckled. "I am here to check up on you, by request of the Queen."

"The Queen?"

"Yes, the Queen." He smiled, though his tone gave way to his irritation. "She is the one who conjured my existence up in the first place."

"She made you?" Florian stood up and neared the table. "So then you're just what, her spy?"

"Of sorts." His smiled had grown tight.

"What do you want from me?" He glared then flinched as his face hurt.

"Why, nothing more than to check up on you, Prince Florian." He sounded aghast that he should be framed for anything else but something good. "I was told that you received quite a terrible head injury, and though I anticipated something that required bandages, I must say that I was not prepared to see such terrible marring on a handsome face."

"This was the handiwork of Adam." He grimaced as he attempted to glare again. "I can hardly breathe, my face is swollen beyond belief, and it is growing harder to see by the second!"

"Oh, you poor thing." The Mirror tutted, rather condescendingly at that.

"I would never have been dishonored or disgraced such as I have here in my own kingdom!" He stomped his foot as his anger grew. Though it felt good to stomp his foot, contorting his face into an even more unpleasant one just caused more pain to his face.

"I am terribly sorry to hear that, Prince Florian." The Mirror gasped. "However, I wouldn't hold it against the Queen since she was not the one to start this predicament between you and Prince Adam."

"That monster is far from a prince!" He yelled back.

"Calling him a monster is a bit of a stretch." The Mirror frowned. "Though I will say he has certainly dealt you quite a blow."

"He most certainly has!" He crossed his arms and felt his blood pressure rising.

"Well, never you worry, Prince Florian." The Mirror smiled, and Florian couldn't help but wonder if there was a little darkness hidden behind it. "I have a way of fixing that."

With a quick pop from his nose that hurt intensely for a millisecond, all the pain in his face, all the aching in his eyes, and all the blood pumping through his face suddenly went away. Florian immediately touched his nose, blinked, then looked into the mirror to see his reflection.

"There you go, that should do it!" The Mirror chuckled.

"My face!" He laughed in disbelief and continued to touch it to see if it would change colors again or remain the same. "My beautiful face! It's as good as new! Oh, how can I repay you, ah, good kind . . . sir?" He blinked up into the face, double checking that it was in fact a man.

"Oh, just a simple request of mine." The Mirror's smile widened, darkened even.

"Name it." Florian smile proudly.

"I need you to help gather ingredients for the Queen."

"You want me to what?" He half laughed as he raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm sorry, I don't think that I heard you correctly."

"Allow me to speak up." He cleared his throat. "I need you to help gather ingredients for the Queen."

"You need me to go shopping like a commoner?"

"Oh, of course not." The Mirror chuckled. "The ingredients that you need to gather are things that only the wealthiest could afford!"

"Why doesn't she just send a servant to go out and do her shopping for her?" He put one hand on his hip and the other to his chin. "It doesn't make sense for a Queen, of all people, to be out and about amongst the commoners gathering ingredients."

"Well, you see, Prince Florian they are magical items." The Mirror explained. "They are items that only royals who have the greatest eye of quality could identify them and purchase them."

"Well, I do have an eye for the finer things in life." He chuckled. "I suppose that I could do something to go about gathering ingredients."

"Fantastic." The Mirror smiled. "Now, I'll need you to go to the dungeons to meet up with the Queen."

"The dungeons?" He blinked and froze. "Why is she in the dungeons?"

"Well, there is very little crime that happens here in Apfel and the dungeons are going through a renovation process by being turned into an additional storage space. While the blueprints are being drawn up and discussed, though, the Queen practices a little magic here and there in her spare time."

"She's a witch?"

"Just because she practices magic does not automatically make her a witch, Prince Florian." The Mirror frowned. "She has been doing her duty in practicing spells to protect her kingdom, but as one way thinkers like yourself would believe, she has to hide away in the dungeons to privately and secretly practice her spells to ensure the safety of the kingdom."

"So that is how this kingdom has had peace for so long . . ." Florian mused. "Very well, it would appear as though I have no choice. You have fixed my beautiful face so I simply must return the favor."

"Marvelous."

"Is it relatively easy to get to the dungeon?" Florian asked thoughtfully. "I assume it's under the castle, though I think I have only ever seen the top floors. I'm afraid I would get lost."

"Don't worry about that." The Mirror disappeared from the vanity mirror to his compact mirror. "I shall be your guide."

"Excellent." Florian gaped. He quickly tucked the compact mirror back into his breast pocket and proceeded to throw on his more cleanly clothes. He would be waiting on getting his other clothes back from the washing since his others ones were covered in his own blood. He gritted his teeth at the thought. He was lucky to have gotten off with only a bloody nose, but still, he only had two shirts and the one covered in blood was his favorite!

Since he was a man who liked to pack light so as to have very little weight on his own persons while he waited for the caravan from Franca to arrive, Florian only had the leather pants he currently wore, the boots he slipped his feet into, and his second clean shirt aside from his suit coat and puffy hat. He greatly loved the color of maroon, he thought it suited him best.

Once he was ready to leave, he double checked the compact mirror to make sure that the Mirror was still and was pleasantly surprised to see that he was.

"Magic is truly a marvelous thing." He marveled and held the compact like a compass.

"Yes, yes it is. Unless you're stuck in it, of course." The Mirror half shrugged and gave a sigh. "Don't take being able to walk around for granted though."

"Why would you say something as silly as that?"

"You have legs to take you wherever you want to go while I am trapped behind a face of fragile glass." The Mirror explained. "Although I can travel small distances between mirrors themselves, there is little of the world that I can actually see or interact with."

"How sad." Florian actually felt bad for the Mirror. He could never imagine not being able to go anywhere! And living behind a window where you could only look out at; no he certainly could not endure such a life as that. He would not have made it to nineteen had he lived that sort of life.

"It is." The Mirror nodded. "But all is not loss, for the Queen has promised me a body and things shall come to light of it soon."

"She's making you a body?" He blinked down at the Mirror.

"With her magic, of course." The Mirror confirmed.

"I'm getting ingredients, for a body?" He blinked down at the mirror.

"Why, yes." He chuckled as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "But don't worry, you'll only have to get the dry ingredients, you won't have to worry about getting your hands dirty."

"Oh, well that is a bit of ease to my soul then." He forced a laugh, but his mouth suddenly felt dry. "How far away is the dungeon?"

"Oh, not far at all." The Mirror began his long line of instructions. "When you exit your room, take a right down the hall and make your way down the stairs."

* * *

QUEEN GRIMHILDE

The wee precious hours of the morning were the best for catching glimpses of the ghosts of her tortured victims in the dungeons. She had never been able to see them before, but after some time, and especially with this week's events, she found herself talking to the shadows more and tapped into some of the darker forces. Watching them float and roam about made her a little thirsty as she thought about how their blood tasted. The tart iron flavor was rather invigorating to taste, especially as the blood just popped from their necks, like a grape. She could not help but giggle to herself as she walked to her grimoire and looked to see what secrets it wanted to reveal to her.

With Fredrick not taking an interest in her now and she not wanting to be forthcoming with her emotions she decided she would focus and harness all her endeavors to finally fulfilling the Mirror's wish. She has failed far too many times and it has gotten beyond frustrating trying to create a body for the Mirror. She desperately needed to get this recipe right sooner rather than later; especially since everyone including Frederick has turned against her.

She paced the floors reading over the grimoire and the recipes it contained. It had recipes for controlling the shadows, for creating a mindless puppet, but the one for creating a body or minion was rather difficult to master. There were so many playing factors into creating a body for a minion verses creating a mindless puppet. All one needed with the mindless puppet was to have a body, whether they were dead or alive did not matter in the least. She had plenty of bodies she could choose from is she desperately needed puppets; she currently had them stored in the walls of the castle, just in case it was needed later. She already had many of the ingredients prepared and waiting around her cast iron cauldron which she already pre-heated to a warm temperature.

"They say he third time is the charm." She frowned as she flipped through the pages to the body recipe and read it over. "Recipe for Creating Body/Minion, Alchemic Ingredients for the Body. . . I need one bucket of the Wishing Well's Spring Water." She dumped the bucket of the Wishing Well Water into the cauldron.

"Ground carbon freshly mined from the Dwarves's Mine." She scooped up the wooden bowl and carefully shook it into the cauldron. "In which the concoction will sparkle silver."

"Four liters of Cat Urine," Her nose wrinkled as she uncorked a vial and poured the high intensified ammonia into the cauldron. "In which it will now change gold."

"Five grams of ground Lime." She dumped another wooden bowl of powder into the cauldron. "From gold to copper green."

"The head of a Three Eyed-Fish subbed in two hundred and fifty grams of Salt." She dropped it into the cauldron and cast the cutting board aside. "Copper green to deep sea purple."

"One hundred grams of the Saltpeter from the Russian mountains." She sprinkled it in. "Stir in gently so that the deep sea purple to the lightest shade of pink roses."

"Eight Ancient Chicken Eggs." She plopped them in upon counting them in and tried not to gag as the smell changed to the mixture of rotten flesh. "From roses of pink to the orange skin of a peach."

"Seven and a half of chopped Fluorine." More minerals were dropped into the brewing cauldron. "The mixture should now thicken and darken a half shade to the orange of Autumn. Quickly add five grams of Iron so that it will change to the color of red dirt." She followed the instructions and her hand hovered over the last ingredient. "Let the heat gather within the cauldron with high steam then add three grams of Siliconic Beer then allow cauldron to simmer over night before adding the ingredients for the soul."

She placed the lid to the cauldron over the top then went to the short credenza to place the grimoire down. She proceeded to skim over the ingredients for the soul and murmured aloud. "Alchemic Ingredients for the Soul: The pure heart of a lover, Three drops of blood from a witch, The hair of someone handsome, 3 Sprigs of Rosemary for remembrance, 2 Tablespoons of chopped holly for spirit calling, A pinch of cypress for longevity, Shredded Yarrow root to make him a relative. . . How interesting." She put her hand to her chin and read the finishing touches to the recipe. "Once everything has been added stir with a wooden spoon (a tin or metal one will melt into the mixture and cause a chemical imbalance) and boil the ingredients for three nights before a lightning storm to fully cook and thicken. Leave opening for the lightning to come down and strike the pot and the body will be ready."

She glanced to the panel in the ceiling that she had installed so she could allow the sun and air into the dungeons. "That should do it." She set a finger bone into the book as a book mark before flipping through the pages. "Should probably look up how to conjure a storm just in case there isn't one Friday evening. . ."

As her hand flicked over the pages there was a timid knock at the doors to the dungeon. She whirled around and looked around for anyone, but there was no one. She slowly turned back to the book when another knock came. "Who the hell is knocking?" She hissed as she gathered her skirts and stormed over to the door. She snatched it opened and saw that Prince Florian stood outside looking lost and holding his compact mirror out.

"Prince Florian." She held her head high and looked him up and down. Last night his face had been bloodied and bruised, but now it was as clean and flawless as if nothing had happened. "You're looking much better."

"Thank you." He smiled nervously, but feigned the confidence.

"Are you lost?" She raised her eyebrow at him.

"Oh, do I wish that I were." He laughed dryly and nervously, his hand squeezed then released. "You see, I'm supposed to be here."

"You are aware that these are the dungeons, yes?" She feigned a smile. "We don't normally allow guests over, you see, we're working on a bit of a remodeling process that I need to oversee –"

"He's here to assist you, My Queen." Florian held up his compact mirror and she saw the face of the Mirror smirking back at her.

"Did you now?" She raised an eyebrow suspiciously at him. Her hands slipped into her robes as she glanced up at Florian. He looked terrified, ravishingly deliciously terrified; her throat suddenly felt even more dry.

"Yes, you see, I healed his face after his terrible injury." He rolled his eyes. "And in reimbursement for helping him, he has agreed to assist you."

"That so. . ." She chewed on the inside of cheek as she looked Florian up and down. He was looking everywhere but her at the moment. He more than likely hasn't seen green flames before. Though he was a fool and would be the perfect tool, he is also the prince of another country, and though killing him was once again way too easy she did not want to put up with the emotional attachment this boy was to his country nor the war that would follow. Taking him on would be a serious risk, but she was aware that she really did need some assistance so as not to tarnish her own reputation.

"Prince Florian." His head snapped back to her. "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

"Oh, yes." He smiled and nodded his head. "Anything to repay the service done for me."

"He is willing to do anything you request of him, My Queen." The Mirror spoke confidently. "He will be a much better help than Prince Adam has been."

"I am far greater than that fake excuse of a prince." Florian snarled. "Anything he can do I can do far better!"

"Interesting." She blinked as soaked up this knowledge. "You see, the recipe that I have started is already half finished. I already had my nephew Adam gather the majority of the ingredients for the first portion. He did so well in getting the ingredients that I needed, it'll be rather difficult to top the quality of ingredients that he got."

This was a lie of course, ever since Adam showed his pretty little face around here he has been swept up in Snow White's babbling nonsense of a life. She couldn't even get Adam to kill the poor girl after getting her alone several times. She was like a stupid lucky rat that just had the right amount of bread crumbs thrown at her to keep her from starving to death; lucky enough to have just thick enough of a blanket to keep her from freezing in the winter; just lucky enough to have survived different accidental poisonings to build up a tolerance and actually live to the age of eighteen.

"You have yet to see quality until you see what I will find for you." His eyebrow twitched and he almost looked desperate to do anything.

"Well, Adam has been rather busy with Snow White's lessons." She pretended to think on things and tapped her finger on her chin. "He said he would help, but I'm not sure if things will work out for him to do so, so I supposed that I could have you help me."

"Think of it as a way of reimbursing the Mirror as well as making up for yesterday with the bear." He took off his head and tried to give her a pathetic puppy look. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and merely smiled at having a new pawn to play with.

"Well, if you insist." She turned and opened the door. "Then welcome to my lair."

He entered first and she closed the door behind them as they descended the stairs.

"The Mirror told me you were renovating." Florian called over his shoulder. "I can see why. This place is in a desperate need of work."

"Yes, well, though it is a little piece of work, I've found that it works for my little. . .hobby." Once they reached the second landing Grimhilde took the lead and showed Florian where her simmering cauldron was.

"If spooky was what you were going for you succeeded in it." Florian turned his nose up at the lack of interior, or lapidating of the interior. "It surely looks like a witch's lair."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She snorted and returned to the grimoire.

"So what are these ingredients that you need?" He turned his nose up again at the smell that seeped from the cauldron.

"Just a few things." She gave a shrug as he approached. "Rosemary, holly, cypress, yarrow root . . . The pure heart of a lover."

"The heart of a lover?" he put his hand to his chin. "That's rather interesting."

"Do you know of any human that doesn't have a heart?" She crossed her arms and dared him to challenge her.

"No." He shook his head and a weird smirk grew on his face. "Where do you expect me to get the heart from?"

"Well, you tell me, Prince Florian." She looked him up and down again. "Honestly tell me, what do you plan to do with Snow White?"

"That gullible wench?" He snorted. "I think you and I both know that I just need the marriage to please my father and have a union with your country and mine."

"No feelings for the pretty little pet?" She raised her eyebrow, marginally surprised by this. There were few that weren't truly attracted to her.

"I would take her without question if she were just a pet. She has a brain she's actually trying to use." He frowned. "All I need her for is to stuff her when I want to have a child. She's a pretty face, but she's only useful to me if she just listens to me without question. She's questioned me far too much that I'd much sooner make a peasant with a pretty face my bride than her."

"Rather brash of you, isn't it?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "For someone who is a man of quality, you seem rather ready to settle."

"Stuffing a woman isn't entirely settling." He gave a shrug. "If one bride dies, she can easily be replaced by another."

"Let's put a pin in that and think on that topic later." She smiled as she could see his rising lust for blood. "Tell me, what do you think of Snow White and Adam?"

"What about them?" His eyebrow flinched.

"Well, I think it is rather apparent that there is some sort of chemistry between them." She shrugged.

"That much is obvious." He crossed his arms and leaned back on his hip. "It makes it that much more fun to get under that craton's skin in trying to snatch Snow White away from him."

"Would you say that the chemistry between them could be love?" She put her finger to her chin.

"Potentially." He nodded with a shrug. "At least on her end anyways. He seems to want to entertain her and enjoys her company, but refuses to make a move on any of her advances; that, or he's blind to them."

"So you think she's in love with my nephew?" She used her hand to hide her growing smirk.

"Yes." Florian growled. "Yes, I think I do."

"Well then, I think we found our heart of a lover, don't you think?" She gave him a knowing look.

"Why yes, I think we have." He chuckled as if the light just turned on. "But how do you propose we get it?"

"Well, I think we both know, Prince Florian." She casually went over to her credenza and pulled out the dagger she had been saving for the chance to kill Snow White herself. "That I, as the Queen of Apfel, cannot kill my step daughter without heads turning to me." She carried the dagger in her hands and brought it over to Florian. "However, should, let's say, an accident in the woods occur and the Prince of Franca did everything he could to save her but was just a tad too late, could go over well." She held it out to him.

Florian's eyes looked greedy as he stared at the dagger then slowly turned his eyes up to her. He was almost where she wanted him.

"You would have a clean slate from here," She tempted further. "And should you want to, stuff her, before the accident were to happen, well, you simply get your just reward as a hero for attempting to save her before going back to Franca."

"The adding another achievement to being a hero is just too rich of a chance to give up." He smiled like a snake as he reached his hand out towards the dagger. "I do think it would be a tragedy to lose such a pretty pet in the world, but it does make for a great story."

His hand stretched and reached for the dagger and he took it. Though Florian himself could not see it, Queen Grimhilde could see that the shadows that she had cast the day before were slowly returning and seeping into Florian. He radiated with a hazy shadow that gave him a growing power.

"Yes, it will make for a great story." She agreed and could not wait to see what would happen next. She watched as Florian sheathed the dagger into his belt and smiled darkly back to the Queen.

"Are we going on that picnic today?" He asked with a smile and she knew that he was already plotting how to get a hold of Snow White.

* * *

FREDERICK

Upon Florian's arrival and lack of entourage Frederick has had the worst headache and the worst time having to shadow Florian and babysit the foolish prince. He has a very nasty habit of getting into things that he didn't need and causing unnecessary trouble. He rode a bear through the streets, kidnaped Snow White momentarily, got punched in the face by Adam, made Frederick regret that he could not have punched him himself, and whined for hours both during and after the doctor's visit. The guy had an unnatural and annoying way of being able to attract unwanted attention and bad company.

Frederick felt obligated to watch over Florian for the sake of Adam's winning streak to keep him from killing the fool as well as the growing darkness that kept shrouding the guy. He already had a pretty high level of darkness from within him, which did nothing to make Frederick trust him, and the longer he stayed here the more darkness he seemed to gather around him. Although he could slap a smile on that pretty face of his it only drew more trouble to himself which would make him a vary prime target to be used as a tool for Grimhilde if he allowed himself to be; which Frederick was counting on it as of this point. The guy had such high envy levels that he would do anything to get above Adam at the moment, even if it meant having a pretend interest in Snow White.

The guy grumbled all through the night and didn't really sleep and Frederick did not trust him. He cursed all night about everything Apfel was, but especially Adam. Other than the one time in the throne room Frederick could not think of a time or a reason as to why he had such a nasty grudge against Adam.

Whatever the reason was Frederick saw that no good would come of it and that Friday simply could not come fast enough to get rid of the guy. Friday evening would be the last day of the festival and would end with a small show of fireworks; so long as it wasn't raining. Friday was the day he would have his bags packed, ready to leave Saturday morning. He was too ready to get rid of him.

A yawn escaped him and Frederick rolled his shoulders to loosen his joints. He had been standing a few doors down from Florian's room for a few hours, took a nap before the sun came up, and stood in wait for him to leave. Frederick knew when he was awake because the first thing he did was swear a few curses, more than likely from touching his face, as though it were a morning routine. He was not loud for long, however, and there was another voice in his room. A certain voice that ensured that there truly would be nothing good coming from this fool.

He neared the door, just to listen, and gritted his teeth upon hearing the Mirror's voice.

"What do you want from me?" He heard Florian ask.

"Why, nothing more than to check up on you, Prince Florian. I was told that you received quite a terrible head injury, and though I anticipated something that required bandages, I must say that I was not prepared to see such terrible marring on a handsome face."

Frederick's right hand balled into a first and his other held his halberd tightly as he continued to listen. The Mirror was up to something, something big if he was getting this fool in on things. His teeth grit tightly. This Mirror had already lured Grimhilde to the dark arts, pulling Florian in would be far too easy. He was easily vengeful, jealous, and all too ready to get rid of any kind of competition.

"This was the handiwork of Adam." Frederick rolled his eyes. "I can hardly breathe, my face is swollen beyond belief, and it is growing harder to see by the second!"

"Oh, you poor thing." The Mirror tutted.

"I would never have been dishonored or disgraced such as I have here in my own kingdom!"

"I am terribly sorry to hear that, Prince Florian." The Mirror gasped. "However, I wouldn't hold it against the Queen since she was not the one to start this predicament between you and Prince Adam."

"That monster is far from a prince!" Florian yelled and Frederick had to resist barging in there and smashing the Mirror. He was very aware that breaking mirrors caused seven years of bad luck, but he's suffered a lot of bad luck over the years that he would readily go into a hall of mirrors and break them all without fear.

"Calling him a monster is a bit of a stretch, though I will say he has certainly dealt you quite a blow."

"He most certainly has!" Florian yelled again and Frederick could not fathom how he had actually managed to live this long. He was the only child of Franca, so it still made sense, but this fool made enemies far too quickly.

"Well, never you worry, Prince Florian." He heard the Mirror chuckle and he felt his blood go cold. "I have a way of fixing that."

Things got quiet, almost to the point of silence, for two whole minutes and Frederick readied his hand at the doorknob. This was how all the things started with the Mirror, he did a 'kindness' that immediately demanded something in return. For Grimhilde it has been a body that she has not been able to successfully make. For Florian it could very well be giving him his body . . .

"My face!" Florian laughed. "My beautiful face! It's as good as new! Oh, how can I repay you, ah, good kind . . . sir?"

"Oh, just a simple request of mine." Frederick pressed his ear to the door, almost opening it.

"Name it." Florian responded and Frederick could have yelled. He had agreed far too easily and now protecting Grimhilde would grow to be more problematic than what it originally was.

"I need you to help gather ingredients for the Queen."

Despite having his ear pressed against the door things got quiet again, as though the Mirror knew he was listening in. Although he could not hear the Mirror now, it was lucky the Florian could rarely keep his mouth closed or be quiet.

"Why doesn't she just send a servant to go out and do her shopping for her?" Florian complained. "It doesn't make sense for a Queen, of all people, to be out and about amongst the commoners gathering ingredients."

He was straining his ear to hear what the Mirror was saying.

"Well, I do have an eye for the finer things in life." He chuckled. "I suppose that I could do something to go about gathering ingredients."

"Fantastic." The Mirror smiled. "Now, I'll need you to go to the dungeons to meet up with the Queen."

"The dungeons?" Frederick froze. "Why is she in the dungeons?"

Hearing as much as he could, Frederick released the door and quietly returned to his position down the hall where he could watch the door to Florian's room. He debated on what he should do, he could easily beat the prince to the dungeons and discuss things with Grimhilde, however, after their last conversation and denying her and his needs he almost felt as though he would be trespassing. Although he swore to protect her and to save her from the nightmare of the villain she was becoming every idea that he came up with was very quickly shot out from under him. It felt as though every time he was able to bring her a little closer to him the Mirror and the Shadows would merely drag her back.

No, going to her with the way things were between them at the moment would do nothing more than to cause further conflict between them. No, he could not go to her now, he would have to follow the fool to the dungeons and see what will happen. As much as he tried to draw her to the light, he could not make her step into it unless she wanted to do so. He knew that there was good in her, but there was just something inside her that denied that and kept pulling her to the dark arts and that cursed Mirror.

"Magic is truly a marvelous thing." Florian fawned over himself and genuinely surprised Frederick. He had not heard him exit his room. Perhaps the powers of the Magic Mirror were sinking in quicker than Frederick had anticipated.

"Yes, yes it is. Unless you're stuck in it, of course. Don't take being able to walk around for granted though." Frederick remained as still as possible upon hearing the Mirror's voice, louder and clearer now.

He was using the same gentle tone he had used with Grimhilde upon his creation and discovery. It was sweet like honey, but stunk like vinegar, but had the right amount of sweetness to it to still lure the weak hearted to the darkness.

"Why would you say something as silly as that?" Florian blinked as stupidly as he sounded.

"You have legs to take you wherever you want to go while I am trapped behind a face of fragile glass." The Mirror explained. "Although I can travel small distances between mirrors themselves, there is little of the world that I can actually see or interact with."

"How sad."

"It is." The Mirror agreed, though Frederick greatly disagreed. "But all is not loss, for the Queen has promised me a body and things shall come to light of it soon."

Again with the body. . .

"She's making you a body?" He blinked down at the Mirror.

"With her magic, of course." The Mirror confirmed.

"I'm getting ingredients, for a body?" He blinked down at the mirror.

"Why, yes." He chuckled. "But don't worry, you'll only have to get the dry ingredients, you won't have to worry about getting your hands dirty."

"Oh, well that is a bit of ease to my soul then." He laughed dryly. "How far away is the dungeon?"

"Oh, not far at all." The Mirror began his long line of instructions. "When you exit your room, take a right down the hall and make your way down the stairs."

Frederick waited until Florian got far enough ahead before carefully following behind him. With every new direction that the Mirror told Florian, Frederick could not help but wonder how the Mirror really knew the way. Even though there were several mirrors along the walls of the halls that eventually went all the way to the dungeon there was no way he could really know the path that carefully.

"If you were going for being sneaky and secretive you have failed greatly, Hunter." The Mirror droned from his own mirror inside his leather vest. He pulled it out and blinked at him.

"How the hell are you in two places at once?" Frederick hissed and glared down at the Mirror. "I thought you only had one head!"

"Yes, but I have multiple thoughts, Hunter." He sneered. "I'm the Magic Mirror, remember? I have magical qualities with massive amounts of power that your mind could not possibly comprehend."

"For a floating mask in a mirror claiming to have all this power, you still haven't nailed down the recipe for the body, have you?" Frederick raised his eyebrow at the challenge.

"Eavesdropping too, eh?" The Mirror snorted.

"What the hell are you doing?" Frederick continued to glare. "I thought we had an agreement!"

"Oh, we do." He nodded his head with a snake like smile. "However, I have multiple deals with multiple people. Since you beings don't seem to last very long, I can change them however it is necessary."

"I thought you helping me was to help you!" He pointed at the mask. "You said getting Grimhilde out of the dark arts would get you out of a horrible end!"

"And it is true." The Mirror nodded. "However, you and I both know life isn't as simple or predictable as we would like it to be."

"No, it's just that people are predictable." He huffed and ran a hand through his hair. "Really? You're using the fool as your new tool?"

"You have no idea how necessary he is for this little story." The Mirror chuckled. "If he isn't taking part in the story then things will get boring very quickly."

"Do not be adding anymore dramatics to this than necessary!" Frederick hissed. "It is hard enough try into get her out of the dark arts as it is, now you're throwing that fool, who is a prince of Franca, who is easy bait to your temptations into the mix too! He's more vengeful than her step father! He might actually try to kill Snow White!"

"Exactly." The Mirror chuckled darkly and Frederick froze. He felt a chill and his hands were sweaty.

"What do you mean by that, Mirror?" Frederick asked as calmly as he could. "I thought you said –"

"I know very well what we said." The Mirror rolled his eyes. "I know what we agreed on. Despite the perspective of things that you're seeing, I'm guaranteeing that things will work out for everyone."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm deathly serious, hunter." He chuckled and Frederick could feel his hand clenching the small face tighter. "You know that."

"If you go back on our deals I swear I'll –"

"You'll what, Hunter?" The Mirror challenged. "I am made of magic. Oh, you can break all the mirrors that you want, but you won't be able to get rid of me that easily."

"I'm very aware." A growl escaped from Frederick. "I've been trying to for years."

"Oh, I don't blame you." The Mirror snorted. "I would get rid of myself if I could. This life is miserable. But you know, I don't mind making others miserable too."

"Misery loves company." Frederick sighed. He was all too aware of his self-putting misery he held over himself with Grimhilde. Despite knowing it, he couldn't not be there for her. If he could be the one to save her, he would.

"Don't worry, I won't make everyone miserable." He chuckled before disappearing.

"Yeah, somehow I don' believe that. . ." He heaved a heavy sigh and felt as though another weight had been added to his shoulders. Tucking the mirror back into his leather vest he just made his way in the direction of the dungeons. The all too familiar path that led him to the woman that he loved in her lair of darkness and dark magic. She currently stood outside the dungeon looking Florian up and down questioning his presence at the dungeons.

Staying behind the corner he was surprised and momentarily proud of her for truly questioning Florian, as if she really didn't want to drag him down into the darkness too. However, that moment was quickly squashed by the miserable Mirror.

"He is willing to do anything you request of him, My Queen." The Mirror spoke confidently. "He will be a much better help than Prince Adam has been."

"I am far greater than that fake excuse of a prince." Florian had been far too easily baited. If only that fool realized that those who know how to anger you control you; then again that is perhaps one of the hardest lessons alongside patience to learn. "Anything he can do I can do far better!"

"Interesting." She blinked those pretty green eyes and Frederick knew, he just knew, that she was quickly weaving her web of plotting thicker. "You see, the recipe that I have started is already half finished. I already had my nephew Adam gather the majority of the ingredients for the first portion. He did so well in getting the ingredients that I needed, it'll be rather difficult to top the quality of ingredients that he got."

"You have yet to see quality until you see what I will find for you." His looked desperate to do anything, whether for the satisfaction of being better or revenge had yet to surface.

"Well, Adam has been rather busy with Snow White's lessons." She tapped her finger on her chin and Frederick noticed that her nails were covered in a strange dusty powder. He grimaced; she had been at work again. "He said he would help, but I'm not sure if things will work out for him to do so, so I supposed that I could have you help me."

"Think of it as a way of reimbursing the Mirror as well as making up for yesterday with the bear."

"Well, if you insist." She didn't even bother to put up a fight and turned to open the door. "Then welcome to my lair."

Florian entered first and she barely closed the door behind them as they descended the stairs. It was as if she had purposely left it cracked for him to enter, as if she knew he had been standing there eavesdropping. Perhaps he was really slipping. . . No, they had a blood bond where they could sense each other; their emotions, their hormones, their presences, they could sense each other even if they were miles apart. Of course she knew he was there. . .

Following suit with the invitation Frederick silently followed after them, making sure they were a few steps ahead of him. Luckily it was so quiet in the dungeons that he could hear what they spoke of from their echoes bouncing off the walls.

"The Mirror told me you were renovating." Florian called over his shoulder. "I can see why. This place is in a desperate need of work."

"Yes, well, though it is a little piece of work, I've found that it works for my little. . .hobby."

Frederick frowned. He highly disapproved of her 'hobby'. Although it saved them from one life of misery it merely threw them both into another one. Once they reached the second landing, Grimhilde took the lead and showed Florian where her simmering cauldron while Frederick took a few more steps down to continue to listen.

"If spooky was what you were going for you succeeded in it." Florian turned his nose up in the air, and Frederick just wanted him, mentally continued to dare him to look into one of the cells, see how truly spooky it was. "It surely looks like a witch's lair."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She snorted and returned to that forsaken grimoire.

"So what are these ingredients that you need?" He turned his nose up again at the smell that seeped from the cauldron. It was horrendous, even from where Frederick stood. He knew this smell all too well, it was the smell of burning flesh that she hoped would turn into a body to finally grant the Mirror his wish. Frederick prayed and wished that there was some other way to finally be released from his invisible grasp that held them tightly. The grasp on her held an even tighter grasp on his heart. . .

"Just a few things." She gave a shrug as he approached. "Rosemary, holly, cypress, yarrow root . . . The pure heart of a lover."

Frederick's own heart froze.

"The heart of a lover?" Florian put his hand to his chin. "That's rather interesting."

"Do you know of any human that doesn't have a heart?" She crossed her arms and dared him to challenge her.

"No." He shook his head and a weird smirk grew on his face. It was as if he already knew. Like he wanted to hear her say it, not because he didn't know what it was, but because he wanted to be granted the permission he hoped he saw underlying in her words. "Where do you expect me to get the heart from?"

"Well, you tell me, Prince Florian." She looked him up and down again and Frederick's teeth grit. He knew what she was trying to do. She was looking for the right tool to toss away once it had finished its task. "Honestly tell me, what do you plan to do with Snow White?"

"That gullible wench?" He snorted and rolled his eyes. He truly was as low as the other two hooligans. "I think you and I both know that I just need the marriage to please my father and have a union with your country and mine."

"No feelings for the pretty little pet?" She raised her eyebrow.

"I would take her without question if she were just a pet. She has a brain she's actually trying to use." He frowned. Frederick could see why Adam was struggling not to kill him. Yes, every man has needs, so do women, but there are limits to everything. Limits to Adam's patience, limits to Frederick's own tolerance, and limits to what qualified him as a man and not a pig.

"All I need her for is to stuff her when I want to have a child." He gave a shrug. Frederick found himself reaching for the dagger in his sheath. "She's a pretty face, but she's only useful to me if she just listens to me without question. She's questioned me far too much that I'd much sooner make a peasant with a pretty face my bride than her."

"Rather brash of you, isn't it?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "For someone who is a man of quality, you seem rather ready to settle."

"Stuffing a woman isn't entirely settling." He gave a shrug. "If one bride dies, she can easily be replaced by another."

"Let's put a pin in that and think on that topic later." She smiled as she could see his rising lust for blood. "Tell me, what do you think of Snow White and Adam?"

"What about them?" His eyebrow flinched. Frederick took another step closer. He almost wanted to stand in the light so she could see him and maybe actually think about her actions before going forth with them.

"Well, I think it is rather apparent that there is some sort of chemistry between them." She shrugged as though she were trying to ignore the fact that there was a chemistry between them. Frederick almost felt bad for them, from what he has learned of Adam, the chemistry between them should be forbidden; and Adam knows it, and though he is doing an excellent job of refraining from moving any farther having Florian around certainly did not help things.

"That much is obvious." He crossed his arms and leaned back on his hip. "It makes it that much more fun to get under that craton's skin in trying to snatch Snow White away from him."

"Would you say that the chemistry between them could be love?" She put her finger to her chin.

"Potentially." He nodded with a shrug. "At least on her end anyways. He seems to want to entertain her and enjoys her company, but refuses to make a move on any of her advances; that, or he's blind to them."

"So you think she's in love with my nephew?" She used her hand to hide her growing smirk.

"Yes." Florian growled. "Yes, I think I do."

Frederick did not like this. He did not like this at all. The longer he listened, the more he truly began to question if he could save her any more. . .

"Well then, I think we found our heart of a lover, don't you think?" She gave him a look that Frederick saw as the spider finally laying out the traps in her web.

"Why yes, I think we have." He chuckled as if the light just turned on. "But how do you propose we get it?"

"Well, I think we both know, Prince Florian." She casually went over to her credenza and pulled out the dagger she had been saving for the chance to kill Snow White herself. Frederick felt something in his heart truly go cold. As if whatever connection they truly shared finally decided to dry up. She really wanted to kill the girl, and because she knew that both he and Adam would not do it, she found a tool that would.

"That I, as the Queen of Apfel, cannot kill my step daughter without heads turning to me." She carried the dagger in her hands and brought it over to Florian. "However, should, let's say, an accident in the woods occur and the Prince of Franca did everything he could to save her but was just a tad too late, could go over well."

She held it out to him. She held out the same blasted dagger she had held out to him. It pained him to see that dagger, but it also gave him the smallest fraction of hope. There was still some good in her. She still couldn't bring herself to kill the girl herself, despite it being a promise she made to her late husband, she still needed someone else to kill the girl.

Although she couldn't kill her herself, Frederick has watched through her mannerisms in pretending to be a mother to Snow White, watched how she's interacted with Adam, and although the immature dark side of herself wants Snow White gone, he sees that in her heart and in her eyes that she wanted her gone because of the guilt and because she sees herself in Snow White. She sees what she used to be, the side of herself that she considers weak, and she sees how there are outside forces that are actually trying to protect her. The outside forces that she, the Queen Grimhilde, refused out of fear a long time ago.

He stared her down now as she slowly held that dagger out to him. She was stiff, as if she knew that he was watching her. She wasn't hesitant, not as hesitant as she should be, she knew what she was doing, and she still wanted to kill the girl she tormented in her past and her present. She didn't want Snow White gone because of what she never did to Grimhilde, no she wanted to get rid of a living memory that breathed before her.

Florian's eyes looked greedy as he stared at the dagger then slowly turned his eyes up to her. He was almost where she wanted him, and Frederick tried to think of a way to make him change their minds.

"You would have a clean slate from here," She tempted further, her voice was quiet, like she was talking more to herself and not tempting Florian. "And should you want to, stuff her, before the accident were to happen, well, you simply get your just reward as a hero for attempting to save her before going back to Franca."

"The adding another achievement to being a hero is just too rich of a chance to give up." He smiled like a snake as he reached his hand out towards the dagger. "I do think it would be a tragedy to lose such a pretty pet in the world, but it does make for a great story."

Before Frederick could actually come up with some sort of plan, Florian's chubby hand stretched and reached for the dagger and he took it. Having witnessed another agreement being made to both the Queen and the Mirror, Frederick watched the shadows seeping into Florian. He radiated with a hazy shadow that gave him a growing power. Things just got a lot more complicated.

"Yes, it will make for a great story." She agreed. Remaining in the shadows Frederick silently made his way down to the same level and tucked himself in the remnants of an old closet.

"Are we going on that picnic today?" He asked with a smile and she knew that he was already plotting how to get a hold of Snow White. He crossed his arms, his hands holding the gap in his elbows tightly, and just continued to watch.

"We will have to see how the events go today." She flashed him a really quick smile. "For now, why don't you go back upstairs and join the others for breakfast? I'm sure Snow White will be one of the first ones at the table. If you hurry, you might even beat Adam to the table."

"If you insist." He mock bowed her with a smirk and a flare of his hat before turning on his heel and leaving. With a pep in his step and hum on his lips Florian easily took the stairs two at a time and left the dungeon with a loud slam from the dungeon doors.

Frederick had to remain where he was so he could figure out what he wanted to say. He was really at a loss for words.

"Are you going to come out, or are you going to keep lurking in the shadows?" She crossed her arms and frowned at him. "I know you're there."

"What would you have me say?" He glared down at her. He was so disappointed. "I try to live by the rule of 'If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all'."

"What? How do you not have anything nice to say?" Her nostrils flared and she jutted that chin at him. He wanted nothing more than to catch that chin and take those frowning lips against his own until they curved up into a smile. "I made sure that you nor Adam would truly have to get your hands dirty, so don't give me that look!"

"What look?" He mirrored her motions and tightened the hold in his arms.

"I hate that look." She hissed with a glare.

"What look is it, My Queen?" Those green eyes intensified.

"You know what it is!" She snapped and put her hands over her ears as she turned.

"What look is it, Hilde?" He took three steps closer to her. She threw her arm out and pointed her pretty little finger in his face.

"Disappointment." She snarled. "If anyone has any right to have the look of disappointment, it is me!"

"Oh is it?" He kept his tone cool, but he felt burningly cold as he stood in front of her. "Why do you have reasons to be disappointed?"

"You have decided that you no longer want to help me." She pushed on his chest. "You have betrayed me!" She continued to push and shove at his chest.

"No, I haven't." He would remain calm. He would remain calm; he had too. "I merely decided to no longer give into these selfish actions that cause problems for your own personal safety."

"Oh, really?" She snapped. "You deny me and proceed to tell me that you aren't going to help me any longer, you don't see that as betrayal?"

"Oh because I refuse to give you what you want?" He found it harder to keep his voice level as he snatched her hand to prevent her from pushing his buttons any more. "You are the Queen of Apfel, Hilde, you're not just some spoiled princess. You're better than that. I've already told you, Hilde, no matter how strong you are, I am not going to let you do this on your own anymore. If anyone has betrayed the other, it is you to me."

She stopped fighting and had a look of hurt flash across her face, it hurt his heart but for a moment; he couldn't allow himself more than that or he would be sucked in to her seductions.

"I have put up a lot for you, for us, Hilde." He looked into those peridot eyes, hoping that his words were touching her somehow. "I would have thought you would have respected me for wanting to be more than just a hero, more than just someone to put a healing wrap on thing. I don't want to lose you, Hilde, but from how you're acting from what I'm seeing. . ."

He slowly released her and stepped away from her. "Perhaps I already lost you, and just hoped you would come back to me. . . So yes, I'm disappointed, I don't know if it is with you, or if it is with me. . ."

His own words echoed in his ears and he hoped she felt it. He was one way or another gaining the realization that the woman he loves so dearly could have been seriously lost and the current woman possessing her will just use him as a tool as she would Florian. He held her gaze, much surprised that she was gawking at him in silence, before he turned on his heel and left. He had nothing more to say to her.

He ascended the stairs and made his way to the West wing where Adam was supposed to be residing. The more the sun rose the more the castle came to life. The servants were bustling about getting flowers in cases, cleaning the windows, sweeping floors, dusting, and all of the usual morning chores. When he finally reached Adam's room, he heard the _tink clink_ of glass being swept up into a dustpan. The door was cracked and Frederick could see that Adam was not there and that he completely smashed the mirror of his vanity. The poor maids set to clean this room would have quiet the chore ahead of them.

Heaving a sigh he turned and left again and made his way to the dining hall. Perhaps he actually got up early enough to go and get breakfast. Frederick had actually hoped that he found a little rock to hide under and sleep under if it meant he could catch up on sleep. Whatever hole that he had decided to crawl into, Frederick needed to find him quickly and warn Adam of the Queen's fans.

* * *

QUEEN GRIMHILDE

She could only stare after him as he left her. She wanted to scream, to grab him, to do something that would make him turn around and face her. Wordlessly she reached for him and it felt as though she had been stabbed in the heart. While he climbed the stairs she fell to her knees clutching her chest. She was furious at his words, she was hurt by his words, but what was worse was that she felt his words. She hated that. Her heart ached with such guilt, such hurt, such anguish that she was gasping for breath trying to push herself up off the floor.

He was disappointed in her. She, the Queen, he the Hunter was disappointed in his Queen that he had been so devoted to for his entire life. She wished that he would have realized sooner that he should not have followed her, and yet, he followed her all the way to Apfel. She wished that he would have found someone else entirely, yet at the same time she never would have allowed that. She wanted to give him any happiness in the world, but she knew she would deny him of it if it somehow didn't involve her. How terribly selfish she was, but that was the role that she wanted to play, the one she felt terrified of escaping because she would go back to being weak and helpless.

Catching her breath and gaining control over her heart, she pushed herself to a stand and hobbled her way over to the Mirror. The fires that sat on either side of the Mirror glowed a soft yellow, which meant that he was sleeping or not present in the dungeons.

"Slave in the Magic Mirror!" She raised her voice, her heart still ached but she knew that the pain would subside momentarily. "Come from the farthest space, through wing and darkness I doth summon thee!" The fires flared and the room's temperature dropped. "Speak! Let me see thy face!"

"Rather impatient, are we My Queen?" The Mirror droned as he made his appearance on the mirror. "What wouldst thou know, My Queen?"

"Magic Mirror on the wall." She disregarded the comment and continued to push through the pain in her chest. "Who is the fairest of them all?"

"Famed is thy beauty, Majesty." He rolled his eyes at her request. "But hold, a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide her gentle grace, but alas, she is more fair than thee."

She knew who it was, but she had hoped that things would have somewhat changed. It only fueled her fury and her own disappointment.

"Alas for her." She hissed and crossed her arms, nails digging into her skin. "Reveal her name; though I know it well . . ."

"Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, sin white as snow," The Mirror prophesied.

"Snow White." She hissed. "Damn that wretched girl!"

"I warned you once, My Queen." He frowned at her. "The more dark magic you dabble in the farther you get from your fairness. The more lives you spend, the more blood you spill to satisfy your own thirst will catch up with you. Dabbling in the darkness and the dark arts of the world only sinks you deeper from the light and from being the fairest of them all."

"We will just have to see about that." She smirked up at the Mirror. "For I do have a plan, one that will get rid of Snow White once and for all."

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far!_

_Things are getting more complicated now! But oooh, is it getting exciting. Even I can't wait to see what will happen next. ^_^_

_Thank you for all of you wonderful readers and reviewers! The reviews have been very helpful and have helped me steer this story in a rather good direction. Though I'm not entirely new to the world of fanfic, I used to write on Quotev, it has been interesting getting back into my niche and just finding the love of writing again. The support from you lovely readers has been phenomenal and very encouraging. It means the world to me and I have loved being able to write again and provide a little bit of entertainment for you all._

_Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	28. Chapter 28

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Eight

ADAM

The morning felt slow and for once Adam felt well rested as he sat up in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. He felt as slow as the morning and actually wanted to sleep longer. It was the first night he hadn't encountered nightmares. A yawn escaped him and he rubbed his eyes to try to wake himself up and tried to figure out where he was. As his brain started up for the day, the events from last night played through his head. He broke another mirror. He groaned and flopped back on his pillow and clutched it to him. His patchwork pillow smelled just like Snow White and made him wish he could sleep longer; he even found himself liking the idea of sleeping beside her. His eyes snapped open and completely sat up and ran his hand through his hair. Had he really just thought that?

He needed to get up. He slipped out of the bed and began to make the bed. He needed to be productive, he needed to be resourceful, he did not need to be caught daydreaming about the impossible. As he arranged the sheets on the bed, he made sure that the pillow that she had made him was fluffed up and sitting on top of the sheets. Now that he was more awake he was able to see just how truly a rough pillow it was with its varying blue fabrics of different sizes and shapes. It was oddly rectangular shaped, but he loved it all the same.

It was as he was making the bed and the sheets flurred a piece of paper in the air. He looked over the side of the bed to the nightstand to see that there was a neat pair of clothes, his boots, his gloves, his hat, and his coat. The piece of paper that had fluttered to the floor had a note in Snow White's handwriting. He bent and picked up the note immediately.

Adam,

I got you a clean pair of clothes and have the mirror taken care of.

I'll be in the library reading for the next lesson.

~ Snow White

His chest fluttered at the note and he could not hide the smile that was there as well. Her already beautiful handwriting had only improved as she learned how to write words and sentences. He was so proud of her; she had come such a long way. He carefully folded the note up and tucked it inside the breast pocket of his coat before he undressed and dawned on the new pair of clothes that she had provided him. It wasn't much out of his ordinary button downs and black pants; the only difference now was that she had managed to get him a pair of blue pants. He easily slipped into them then tucked the ends into his boots. He had just slid into his shirt when a knock came at his door.

He quickly buttoned up his buttons before opening the door to see Frederick, looking panicked, pacing outside the door. "Frederick?"

"Thank God, you're actually in here." He barreled into the room and shut the door behind him.

"What's going on?" Adam continued to dress before walking over to the nightstand and slipped his coat on.

"Grimhilde and Florian is what's going on!" He flared. Adam had to blink at the growing temper of Fredericks.

"Do you care to elaborate on that?" Adam crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow at him.

"The two of them are getting together." Frederick snapped as he paced.

"That's disgusting." Adam turned his nose up at the thought. "I never truly thought that she would –"

"Not like that!" Frederick glared. "No, the two of them are plotting!"

"What do you mean?" Adam snapped back. "You're not making much sense, Frederick."

"The two of them are working together to create a body for the Mirror." Frederick ran a hand through his hair and finally stood still.

"What?" Adam blinked and felt his blood go cold. There's no way she could be creating a body, not this early! If that were the case then she really fell into the darkest pits of darkness very early in her life.

"They are gathering ingredients to create a body for that damn Mirror!" Frederick explained in a hushed voice.

"Bloody hell." Adam found faltered two steps away from Frederick. "Do you know what this means?"

"That both you and Snow White are in terrible danger."

"Not me." Adam shook his head. "I know how to handle that old hag. No, Snow White is in terrible danger. If they successfully create this body, I could have a twin walking around framing me and causing trouble. . ."

"'Your twin'?" Frederick blinked and all of the dots were connecting. "You mean you're supposed to be the body of the Mirror?"

"I was, yes." Adam heaved a heavy sigh. His brain was running and dancing with ideas of what to do: Escape to the Anti-Realm? No, he would never be considered a coward.

Kill them all before they could finish it? Despite the idea being very tempting it would cause more harm than good and there was only so much land where he could hide the bodies.

Take Snow White with him somehow? Although he believed he could take her with him depending on her loyalty to Apfel and even her horrid step mother she could not come along without having a guilty conscious; not to mention how much it would throw this Realm into imbalance.

"I was supposed to be a brainless puppet for the Mirror to use." He glared at the floor. "However, I had both a brain and a heart and became unusable for the Queen and have had to endure quite the living hell from both the old hag as well as the Mirror."

"So then there's a chance it'll fail?" Frederick asked, mild encouragement coming from him.

"Oh, there's a high chance that she'll fail." Adam sighed. "But if the Mirror has actually been guiding her through this process, then it could actually be successful."

"How would we ensure that it fails?"

"She can't have all of the correct ingredients." Adam supplied and crossed his arms. "It's actually very easy to mess the recipe up, it has to have the purest value of all ingredients for it to work."

"Then you have to get Snow White out of here." Frederick stood in front of him and looked him dead in the eye. "The Queen told Florian that she wanted Snow White's heart and Florian has happily agreed to acquire it for her."

"The little bastard." Adam snarled and his hands balled into a fist. "I'll come up with something. Has she started the spell yet?"

"She has allegedly started it and it already halfway done with it." Frederick nodded. "It had the worst smell imaginable."

"Shit, that gives me less time." He ran his hand through his hair and his heart pounded in his chest. He was stuck in a corner and he had to figure a way out without the Queen noticing. "I need to figure out a way to get her out of here by tonight . . ."

"How are you going to do that?" His green eyes searched Adam's black ones, desperate to hear his plan.

"I don't know yet." His heart pounded faster in his chest. "I'll think of something . . ."

"Let me know if there is anything that I can help you with." Frederick scratched the back of his neck.

"I'll let you know." Adam nodded. His brain was already in the works of trying to plan.

With nothing else to say Adam merely left his borrowed room and made his way to the library. He didn't want to keep Snow White waiting any longer than was necessary; especially if Florian was now working with the old hag. The fool already had proved to Adam that he was not to be trusted and he refused to allow Snow White to be put in danger. Although she was far too nice for her own good and wouldn't actually tell Florian to go away Adam had no problem doing it for her. If he had to be the villain that kept everyone else away, so be it; so long as she was safe that was all that mattered now.

His mind, though trying to formulate a plan to escape and save snow White, drifted off to what his original purpose was. His whole mission was to dispose of Snow White, yet as he stood in front of the library he was thinking of every plausible plan that could save her. The ever growing confliction in him made him hesitate from entering the library. If he truly wanted to he could walk away from all of this and just let Florian and the old hag have their way. As he thought of that, the thought didn't sit well with him. He almost wished he had never had the chance to know Snow White; but he had and it was the best thing ever.

She had shown him what it was like to live, to laugh, to smile, to actually look forward to a new day instead of wishing it would never come; though she would have denied having any part of that. She showed him that there were few true honest souls in the world, even if in a different Realm. Despite him knowing that he more than likely scared her once or twice she never actually ran from him, she bravely and unabashedly took him head on and even treated him like he was her friend. She gave him the hope that he could actually have a second chance; which absolutely terrified him.

If she knew how he felt about her . . .

If she knew what he had done . . .

If she knew what he was . . .

If she knew why he was here . . .

Would she still see him the same way?

Would she still want his help?

Would she still see him as a friend?

Would she still be able to look him in the eye without fear?

Would she even look at him again with those doe eyes that had a way of drawing him in and wanting to save her for himself?

His hand clenched into fists at either side of him. He found that he had been holding his breath and when he released it felt a little lightheaded. He had to take a few breathes to calm down and cool his head before entering the library.

The scent of old glue and ancient pages greeted his mind with such familiarity that all anxieties dissipated. However, there was also another unusual scent of ash and salted earth that wafted in the air as well. As he made his way to their usual table, however, those anxieties very quickly returned. Florian had one hand on the table and the other on his hip while looming over Snow White. She had a smile on her face and had her hands on her book almost protectively. Her knuckles were white, as if she were holding on to the book for dear life.

"I really just don't understand." Florian snorted. "Why would a princess need to read? She should just listen to whatever her husband or king says to do."

"What if something happens to the king, or her husband?" She countered, almost with a challenging tone, and Adam felt both proud and very attracted to her for this. "How is she supposed to rule the country? How is she supposed to take care of her people?"

"She should just remarry." Florian sneered down at her. "There's no need for a woman to have to worry her pretty little head over the affairs of the castle. She would need to find someone who is capable of being a leader, of ruling the country."

"Would you really be telling my step mother that she should need to remarry?" She stared at him head on. "She's been ruling Apfel without a husband for over ten years. Are you really suggesting she marry?"

"Of course not." He laughed dryly. "She's far too old to get married at her point in life."

"You obviously don't know anything about King Henry VIII, do you?" Adam spoke up as he approached the table.

"And why exactly is he important to me?" Florian threw on a smile on his own face, but Adam could see the feral look in his eyes. He wanted a fight, and he wanted blood.

"King Henry VIII is already fifty-three and is on his sixth wife." Adam stood right beside Snow White and placed his hand on the back of her chair. "He has already divorced two, beheaded two, and lost the third wife during childbirth. He's been desperate to have an heir and he hasn't been much of a good ruler and has caused chaos to his people ever since his riding accident."

"Your point being?"

"Age is just a number." Adam stood tall and looked down at Florian. "It is the experience and how one uses it that makes them useful as a leader and to society. The Queen of Apfel has both the experience and age to make her a more qualified ruler without a husband than she would be with one. She has the knowledge and the experience because she took her lessons seriously and read because she, like many widows, still have to go on even after their husbands have passed."

"You surely jest." Florian tried to laugh it off.

"Oh, are you telling me that you haven't received an invitation to any of the weddings? To any of his parties with the court?" Not that Adam had never once been invited to anything in his own life, but he was not as ignorant of the world as Florian. At one point in time the old hag thought she would extend her own hand of marriage to Henry VIII, however after the rejection of Anne of Cleves as well as the other stories of what had happened to his previous wives she reconsidered her options. Possibly one of the wisest decisions she ever made.

"You obviously are not aware of the strained relations between Franca and Angles," Florian chuckled awkwardly and pulled at the collar of his shirt.

"Oh, I'm aware of the little stunts that your country and Angles has pulled." Adam waved his hand to dismiss. "It is a constant game of power between you two, and it would not surprise me if trying to get a foot in the door here was to better relations to somehow get a stronger army. Am I wrong?"

Florian looked as though something inside of him had snapped. There was a tick in his eye and his eyebrow twitched as he removed his hand from the table and stood straighter. He walked moved a hair too close to Snow White and Adam stood between them to keep him from touching her.

"No. You're not wrong." He said through a gritted smile. "But it is better that one keeps his opinion to himself, no?"

"If that is so, then you should keep your opinions of how Apfel should be run and how Snow White chooses to advance in her education." Adam puffed up his chest, almost daring Florian to make the first move. Florian almost had to stand on his toes to even try to reach up to Adam to stare him in the eyes. Adam was ready for the feral side of Florian to escape, but he was even more ready to fight whatever darkness laid beneath his surface. Standing this close to Florian, Adam was able to detect the ashen and salted earth from Florian. Whatever had happened overnight Florian had a heavy aura of darkness resting on his shoulders like a demon.

In an odd instant Florian backed away, though he never took his eyes from Adam's, and simply left the library. Adam stayed by Snow White's side, ready to defend her if Florian decided to lash out, as he watched Florian leave the library in a huff. Both Snow White and Adam stared after Florian until the doors slammed shut.

"Well, that could have gone better." She heaved a sigh and her shoulders drooped.

"Oh, how could it have gone better?" He took the seat beside her and glanced over the book she was reading. It was one of her homework books that she needed to practice her reading in.

"You didn't have goad him like that." She looked him in the eyes with a soft smirk. "We already know that he talks too much."

"I will not have him disrespect you, Snow White." He spoke seriously as he looked down into her eyes.

"If he chooses to live his backward ideals of life in Franca, so be it. However, I will not stand for him to force his ideals on you and try to make you believe in them. You do not deserve to be treated like that."

"I thank you for defending me, Adam." She smiled at him and he saw a soft dimple in her left cheek.

"Though I really wish you weren't so aggressive when it came to Prince Florian." She began to twist her fingers in her lap. "He will be leaving at the end of the week and we will not have to see him again, unless King Henry VIII invites us to some sort of event."

"You don't plan to go back to Franca with him?" His heart skipped a beat. It wasn't that he would have simply let Florian whisk her away, but if truly wanted to go then Adam would not have stopped her. The kindness she had continuously shown him this week, though, was just enough to concern Adam . . .

"No, I don't believe that I will." She shook her head and sat momentarily still. "I don't think that I could be happy with him . . ." She pursed her lips and her brow furrowed as she thought deeply on the matter. "Despite the fact that I think my step mother really wants me to marry him to unify the kingdoms, I just can't seem to make myself do it."

"Why would you force yourself into a listless marriage?" He probed, truly wanting to know how she thought about the situation. Ever since they started these lessons, she has simply bloomed. Though she was quiet, she was very observant, almost too observant. But he liked to watch her think, to watch her read, whatever she put her attention to she was entirely engrossed in it.

"I would do it if the Queen told me I had to." She spoke slowly as she sorted out both her feelings and her thoughts. "However, from what Florian has shown to me I know that I would not be happy . . . He would be livid if he married me then found out that I couldn't have children . . ."

She bit her lip and looked as though she were trying to hold back years of tears. Her nose flared as she breathed and she shut her eyes tightly, as if trying to suck all the tears back somehow. Hard as she tried there were still a few trickles that escaped and her chin quivered.

"Snow White –" He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, burying her face in his chest so that he would not have to see her crying face and so he could shield her from anyone who could possibly see them. She all too easily melted into him and as her sniffles began his heart ached.

"He's a lot like them." She sniffled and took slow breaths. "Like Mr. Joe-Joel and Mr. Jack-Jackson . . ."

"Has he touched you?" He froze and held her tighter. He would drag him back to Franca and kill him like the dog he was in his own country if he had.

"No." She shook her head. "He's been rough with me when he's escorted me and left a bruise or two, but other than that he hasn't touched me."

"When did this happen?" He pulled her back and looked into her eyes. Her face was a soft pink with her eyes and nose an even pinker shade.

"Y-Yesterday." Despite having tears trailing down her face she looked at him with clear eyes. "It happened when I pushed him . . ."

She twisted her arm up and pushed up her sleeve to show him the fading bruise on her bicep. His jaw tightened and he had to be careful not to grit his teeth too tightly.

"Is that all?" He searched her face and glanced to her other places of exposed skin.

"Y-Yes." She nodded still keeping eye contact with him.

"Has he done anything else to you?" He held her at arms-length still worried that she could potentially be hiding something from him.

"Other than be rude and not listening to me and telling me I shouldn't be taking lessons, no." She shook her head. Adam released a deep breath through his nose, only slightly relieved.

"If something ever happens, or even if you don't feel comfortable, call for me." He slowly released her and let his hands return to his own lap. "I will protect you."

There was a glisten in her eyes that threatened more tears to come, but also something deeper lying underneath that he couldn't quite place. Despite the fact that she looked happy to hear that, there was something that she wanted to ask him that took that happiness away from the moment.

"Thank you, Adam." She smiled and placed her hand on his. "I will, I promise."

Though she smiled and he held his eyes with her own, her smile did not meet her eyes and there was a growing worry within them that seemed to be holding her back. Though he was happy to see the smile, he could tell that something else was bothering her. He wanted to ask her about it, or simply ask her what it was that she wanted to say, but he found himself holding back. Perhaps his biggest fear was coming to light. . .

"Before Florian interrupted me, I was reading this sentence here." She sniffled and turned back to her book, but kept her hand on his. His own hand felt warm and he wanted to hold that little hand in his own, but he did not want to be too forward and would simply follow her lead. He wanted to remove his glove to feel her hand against his own; it just felt too natural yet so unfamiliar to him.

"Which one?" He leaned closer and dared to intertwine their fingers. She did not stop him and simply intertwine her own with his. There was an ever growing thudding that pulsed in his ears.

"H-Here." She cleared her throat and pointed to the sentence in the book. She had been very persistent in reading books with difficult vocabulary in them as of late, like she wanted to make up for the lost time over the years. One way or another Adam had slipped Jane Austen's Persuasion into her reading book list. It wasn't quite the book she was looking for, but he found that Snow White was very similar to Anne Elliot in how she is easily persuaded to do things for others. They shared many similarities in their meekness, their kindness, and letting others walk over them, however their differences were in Snow White's socialness with everyone she met, her willingness to make others happy, and her quiet strengths of observations.

"'I can listen no longer in silence'." She read aloud. "'I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever'." She looked to him with her brow furrowed. "I think it is the wording, but this particular language has been confusing to read nonetheless."

"You've made good progress in it." He blinked as she was so close to the end of the book.

"What is Captain Wentworth trying to say?" Her brow stayed furrowed as her eyes skimmed over the words again. "It doesn't quite make sense to me. . ."

"In the letter he writes to Anne." Adam had to clear his throat as it had suddenly gone dry. "H-He is confessing his feelings for her."

"And he is in agony for that?" She tilted her head as she continued to read.

"It is because of where things had left off for them, and where their story took them." He stared at the words on the page. "They both have such strong feelings for one another, but they are both terrified of moving one way or another without throwing everything into the imbalance."

"If he loves her, then why is he in agony?" She looked up into his eyes with the most sincere of questions. Adam felt a lump forming in his throat that had become hard to swallow.

"Because he loves her so deeply, but he knows he is undeserving of her." He explained in a hushed voice. "H-He knows that he has made mistakes and that there are some things in life that he can't go back and repair. He wants to tell her that he loves her, but he has no idea if she reciprocates his feelings or entirely rejects them because of the past. . . He is terrified that it could be too late for him to confess if she has found someone else."

"But she loves him." She argued with a quick shake of her head. "If he only paid attention to the looks they gave to one another, he could see that!"

"It is easy to assume that you see something that does not exist, though, my dear, Snow White." Oh how he lamented the relation to Wentworth at the moment. "You can only know so much about a person. You only know as much as they allow you to know; even in the regards to their feelings."

"But why doesn't he just tell her?" Those doe brown eyes almost seemed to be pleading for him to answer that question for himself.

"Because if she has found happiness in another, he would not want to hinder her from it." He answered and a deep sadness came over her face. "He is willing, though he does not entirely want to, to put his feeling aside for her and her happiness."

She stuck her bookmark in the book and closed it. She frowned as she stared at the book.

"I don't know if I like this book . . ." She commented.

"It has a happy ending." He encouraged and earned a small smile.

"It is a little bit too much work for this early in the morning." She pouted slightly, but Adam couldn't help but wonder if there were something else on her mind.

"Well, perhaps things will get better after breakfast." He stood and offered his hand down to her. "We

can always pick up our lessons after."

"That sounds like a good idea." She smiled weakly up at him before dropping her gaze. She did not move her hand to take his.

"Is there something the matter?" He was aware that there was but she had decided not to voice it.

"Adam . . ." She meekly looked up at him. "Will you make me a promise?"

Her voice was soft, but her tone was very serious. It was the doe eyes, though, that drew him in.

"What is it?"

"Will you promise me not to get into any more quarrels or fights with Prince Florian?" She looked so serious as she looked into his eyes. There was something that was bothering her, and though Adam was not sure what or how, he knew that it had something to do with him.

"That is a rather difficult promise to keep, Snow White." He sighed. He wanted to promise her, he sincerely and truly wanted to promise her that he would, however Florian just made him too angry.

"I-I know. . ." She nodded her head in acknowledgement. "I know, and I'm sorry for asking that of you. However, you only have to tolerate him for a few more days before he returns to Franca."

"I will try my best to keep that promise, but Snow White." He grimaced at the idea of just putting up with the fool for three more days. "That is a really big promise."

"I know." She wouldn't look away from him. "But will you still promise me?"

Those doe brown eyes pleaded with him, begged him to agree. It was both the easiest and hardest thing to do for her. He would say yes because she knew how much it meant to her, but he wanted to tell her no because if Florian did anything to inflict the tiniest damage to her again he would have little self-control.

"I will. . ." He nodded his head slowly, almost forcing himself to do so.

"Thank you." She managed a smile, but she looked as though she regretted asking him to make the promise. "I don't know about you, but I'm a little hungry." She forced a smile on her face and it hurt Adam to see that she had to force a smile because of him. "I think I'll go see what I can do about getting us some breakfast."

She pushed herself to a stand and walked past Adam without looking back at him and left the library. Adam stood planted to the spot, teeth gritted and hands in fists. This was going to be the longest three days of his life; and if he were being honest with himself he wasn't sure he was going to make it. . .

With repairs needing to be done within town Snow White and Adam were able to get plenty of studying done and Snow White was even able to advance to another book. After she came back with breakfast they immediately jumped into her studying and lessons. There was something odd about her after breakfast during the morning lessons. She wouldn't look him in the eye, not directly anyways. She would look at his face, but would just look past him, or stare at a spot on his forehead instead of looking him in the eye. He wasn't sure if he said something to upset her, but she continued to smile and laugh as if nothing had happened. He found that her little act was seriously driving him crazy to the point that when she went to go get their lunch he went and roamed the book shelves.

"Are you looking for anything in particular, Adam?" The Queen purred at the end of the bookshelves. He turned to see her smirking at him, those green eyes swirling with devious ideas.

"Not in particular." He watched her carefully. "Though I feel as though I should ask if you are."

"Of course not." She smiled a white smile and Adam swore he could see the smallest traces of blood on her teeth. "I came here looking for you."

"Whatever for?" He kept his voice even though he did not see this conversation going anywhere good.

"I heard you weren't particularly nice to Florian this morning." She noted and slowly walked towards him.

"I never have been." He raised an eyebrow at her, almost challenging her. "Your point is?"

"I don't remember you having such an attitude with me." He smile faded into a frown. "I don't like those who defy me, Adam."

"Out of everyone in this entire kingdom, I know of this very well." He glared down at her. "You've left more than enough scars on me to let it stay as a reminder."

"How delicious." She chuckled. "I'm glad to see that I'm still tyrannical in the future."

"What is it that you want?" He kept his back straight, his muscles tensed just in case she had something up her sleeve.

"Simple." She slid her hands into her robes as she approached. "I want you to give me Snow White's heart."

"What the hell are you going on about?" He was prepared for many things, but for some odd reason he was not prepared for that.

"I am creating a body for the Magic Mirror." There was a crazed look in her eyes. It was a look he was all too familiar. It was whenever she seeped deeper into the darkness and allowed it to rule her mind and reasoning. He found himself growing intensely ready for a fight. "But you should already be aware of this."

"Why do you need her heart?" Adam kept his face as still as stone. He would not give away any signs that her words were greatly affecting him.

"One of the ingredients requires the Heart of a Pure Lover." The grin became almost snake-like.

"You can't really think that she, Snow White, would be in love with . . . Me. . ." He scoffed and soon another battle raged within him. Excitement for even remotely thinking the girl liked or potentially loved him; Fear that this was somehow a ruse to get rid of him and would ultimately put her life in danger; and as much as he hated it there was even a tinge of Regret, regret that he had let things come this far knowing that he could never have anything more than what they already shared.

"Oh, of course she does." The old hag rolled her eyes. "You must be blind if you haven't seen it by now."

"No." He shut his eyes and put his hands over his ears. "No, I refuse to believe you!"

"Oh, I have no reason in lying to you at the moment, nephew." She chuckled. "The only reason why I am telling you is to give you another chance to prove your loyalty to me."

"You can't be serious." He shook his head in more anger than disbelief.

"Oh quite serious." She tilted her head as if assessing what he could possibly do other than swear loyalty to her. "Now, you can either kill your sweet precious princess by your own hand, or I will et Florian to do it,"

"That fool?" His hands balled into fists.

"Oh yes," Her laugh was too airy. "You've built up quite a lot of grudges with the boy, and I would be a fool not to take the advantage of using that raw jealous anger for my own purposes. Besides, it's easier to absorb that much negative energy whenever I need to regain my youth."

"Oh, so you've finally stopped with the whole blood sucking thing?" He crossed his arms at her.

"No, it's just easier to absorb the negativity from Florian." She waved her hand dismissively. "Besides, we're already low on staff and if I keep up wha tI'm doing there's too big a chance someone will catch on."

"You can't be serious." He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"So what have you decided?"

"I refuse." He stood tall, he stood straight.

"Pardon me?" Her head snapped as it tilted to the side.

"I refuse to do it." He boldly took a step towards her and looked down at her. "From the moment I have arrived in Apfel she has done nothing. Nothing to you, you've hidden her away from the public so hardly anyone knows who she is; you've stripped her of her title and only recently given it to her for the face of Florian; she is the purest soul I have ever met and I refuse to spill her blood for you to create a body for that damn Mirror!" he pointed a finger in her face as all the years and scars finally fought back. "I have killed far worse, and far too less innocent souls for you by your command I my life. I am tired of doing the dirty work for you because you can't do it all by yourself. In my time it is due to your old decrepit age; here it is just because you don't want to get your pretty hands dirty; at least not anymore than you have already. I refuse to be apart of your schemes anymore."

It felt good to finally tell her no, it was as if a mountain had been knocked off his shoulders; however the moment did not last. Her face was still with no emotion attached except in her eyes. Her eyes had a green storm of fury waiting behind them. The boiling plot she had already brewing now overflowed.

"If that is how it is going to be." Something feral flashed in her eyes. "Then so be it. The Mirror, for once, was wrong. You have betrayed me. You will suffer the consequences."

Turning on her heel her skirts and robes flurried about her and her heels clicked against the floors as she exited the library. Even after the doors to the library Adam could only stare after her as he mentally replayed their conversation. He openly rejected and refused the Evil Queen, his tormentor for so long. He was finally able to tell her no but his freedom from her terrible grasp came at a terribly expensive cost. Keeping Snow White safe was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far!

Hello readers! I just wanted to say thank you for all of you who have messaged me telling me your thoughts on the story as well as asking requests for which character you would like to read about. Trust me when I say that it is so hard to just choose one. I currently have a few outlines that I'm in the process of typing up and writing a few drafts here and there; however, I will not be posting anything new until I finish the three stories that I do have published. As much as I hate to play favorites the Muse has been just as obstinate as I have about which story to write at the moment. I don't know if this story will be completed before the 'Another Chance for Disney Villain Recruiters', but I am in the works of getting the ball rolling with that one.

Please continue to leave reviews and giving me your thoughts, whether they are positive, negative, or corrective criticism I do try to take them with a grain of salt because they do help me see the stories in another way when it's necessary.

Thank you for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	29. Chapter 29

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS OR DISNEY VILLAINS THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE STORY AND PLOT ITSELF. THE DISNEY VILLAIN RECRUITERS IS A CHARACTER CREW PART OF THE JAPAN DISNEY PARADE THAT THEY HAVE AT HALLOWEEN. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION STORY THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

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Chapter Twenty-Nine

ADAM

Thankfully there was enough to go over in their lessons that they were able to study and keep busy until dinner. Much to his dissatisfaction he was not as in-tuned to the lesson, however it also seemed as though Snow White were not as into the lesson as well. She did her work neatly and orderly and took it all seriously, but she seemed as though she wanted to be some place else but was being polite in remaining with her lessons. Whenever Frederick called them to dinner they were both secretly excited to escape the library.

Frederick had been the one to come and inform them that dinner was ready. Snow White took that moment of opportunity to excuse herself to change her dress for something more formal for dinner. Adam was greatly impressed by how quickly and seemingly easy she had stepped into her role as a princess. Just a mere month ago she was wearing rags and scullery maid's dresses and now she knew she had to be in the appropriate evening wear for multiple occasions. He had still yet to understand why they were required to change so many times, though he did find himself both enjoying seeing her dressed so beautifully as well as worried. He was aware that she was wearing several hand-me-downs from the Queen, but he could not remove the thought of her paying for her own materials at the markets and could not help but worry if she had to buy some of those gowns.

"You'll see her at dinner, Prince Adam." Frederick had a smirk on his face as he looked down at Adam.

"I am very aware of that." Adam frowned at Frederick. "I'm just so worried. . ."

"She can make it to her own room without worrying about being pounced upon." Frederick spoke in reassurance. The library is rather close to her living quarters and the Prince Florian has gotten lost in the East Wing trying to find her room."

"That does little to ease my mind." Adam gritted his teeth and his hand slowly closed into a fist.

"Have you a plan, yet?" Frederick whispered as he stood closer.

"Not yet." He heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed his eyes. "There's so little time and not enough of it for me to properly plan."

"Surely you can just get her out of here for a few days." Frederick encouraged. "Can't you take her to your little cottage in the village?"

"If you know of where I live so does the Queen, and if she so chooses to inform the fool then he will as well." Adam shook his head. "No, that will not do at all."

"How about the tree from which you come?"

"What?" Adam froze as he looked at Frederick.

"By now you should be aware, Prince Adam, that I have been assigned to watch over you since your arrival to Apfel." Frederick spoke honestly and bluntly. "I have seen you enter through the dead tree on the mountain."

"It's dead?" Adam blinked only half surprised. "That makes quite a bit of sense. . . But no, I can't take her with me there. . . It is a thousand times safer here for her than it is there."

"Are you certain?"

"Let me paint it to you this way." Adam looked him dead in the eye. "What you saw the day I did to those men is hardly a thing I can do in comparison in the Realm from which I come. But I am not the only one that is dangerous. I can protect her, yet, but she is a flame to deadly moths that would eat her alive. It is not safe for her where I come from. . ." He put a hand to his chin as he tried to think of what else he could do. She needs to stay in Apfel, but far enough from the castle where no one can get to her, but also in a place that is safe and not well known. The mountains would be a perfect spot; she only needs a place to stay. "Although I cannot take her there, I do believe that I have a place that I can take her someplace else."

"Where?"

"I cannot tell you yet." He shook his head. "I do not want to give either of us a false hope until I get the proper permissions."

"How soon will you know?"

"If I leave after dinner I should return by daybreak."

"Where could you possibly -?"

"Don't ask more about it." Adam held his hand up to silence him. "Just trust me. I promise that I'll get things taken care of."

"Let me know before you leave." Frederick held eye-contact with Adam.

"I will." Adam nodded in agreement and took a step forward. "Come on, we should probably get going before they wait too long."

* * *

SNOW WHITE

Today has been rather difficult and the rain certainly wasn't helping. There was no way around it, it was just an overall difficult day. It was a lovely time of studying and lessons with Adam until she returned with lunch. She had no idea what to make of the conversation she had heard in the library between Adam and her step mother. She had not meant to overhear the conversation, but she knew that she needed to tread quietly in the library and well everywhere in the castle if she were to get her duties done quickly.

She hadn't thought of it whenever she watched her step mother walk into the library, she almost called after her until she watched her slip through the aisles. She ever so quietly made her way across the room to set the tray of sandwiches and other delicacies on the table. She wanted to invite her step mother to join them for lunch so she could show her how well her skills had become. However, as she approached the aisles she heard conversation.

"Are you looking for anything in particular, Adam?" Her step mother asked in a curious tone. She wasn't sure why, but she stopped trying to catch up with her step mother and hopped in a row that was two away from the one that Adam and the Queen were in.

"Not in particular." He responded. "Though I feel as though I should ask if you are."

"Of course not." Her step mother waved the comment dismissively. "I came here looking for you."

Snow White's heart beat loudly in her chest as she held her breath as she tried to pear between the books to watch them talk. The Queen could see anyone she wanted, however, that old anxious fear of losing people she cared for was eating up at her.

"Whatever for?"

"I heard you weren't particularly nice to Florian this morning." She heard footsteps getting closer to Adam and Snow White found herself being thankful for being short. She was just tall enough to see their heads through the books but they would not easily see her.

"I never have been." He snapped rather impatiently. "Your point is?"

"I don't remember you having such an attitude with me. I don't like those who defy me, Adam."

Snow White found herself chewing her lip and fidgeting with her fingers badly as she continued to listen.

"Out of everyone in this entire kingdom, I know of this very well. You've left more than enough scars on me to let it stay as a reminder."

Snow White's eyes widened and her little heart fluttered upon hearing this. Scars? He had received scars from the Queen?

"How delicious." She let out that scary laugh that sent chills down Snow White's spine. That mocking, evil laugh. "I'm glad to see that I'm still tyrannical in the future."

Future? What future? Why would the Queen be talking about how she I sin the future?

"What is it that you want?" Adam responded coldly.

"Simple." Snow White didn't like the tone in her voice. "I want you to give me Snow White's heart."

Snow White had to put her hands over her mouth to keep her from gasping or making any sort of noises. The tears burned her eyes, threatening to fall.

"What the hell are you going on about?" Adam sounded surprised, lost even.

"I am creating a body for the Magic Mirror." She retorted and Snow White stood very very still. "But you should already be aware of this."

"Why do you need her heart?" There was something in Adam's voice that sounded strained as he asked that question.

"One of the ingredients requires the Heart of a Pure Lover." Snow White's hand instinctively went to her heart, as if to protect the pounding beating bird within.

"You can't really think that she, Snow White, would be in love with . . ." He sounded in disbelief, or that he did not want to believe her words. "Me . . ."

His scoffing hurt her deeply and made the beating of the bird worse.

"Oh, of course she does." The Queen rolled her eyes. "You must be blind if you haven't seen it by now."

"No." Adam shook his head with his eyes closed and his hands over his ears. Watching him openly reject her unrequited love for him was painful, she bit her lip as she continued to watch. "No, I refuse to believe you!"

"Oh, I have no reason in lying to you at the moment, nephew." She chuckled and Snow White's blood ran cold. "The only reason why I am telling you is to give you another chance to prove your loyalty to me."

His loyalty?

"You can't be serious!" He shook his head.

"Oh, quite serious." She continued to approach him. "Now, you can either kill your sweet precious princess by your own hand, or I will get Florian to do it."

Prince Florian? She watched in horror as bile rose in her throat and she wanted to vomit.

"That fool?" Adam snapped.

Snow White had to take a few steps back. Her head was whirling, the room was spinning, she felt sick, she felt hurt, but worst of all she felt foolish. She let her emotions blind her and she felt so childish for it. She should have known it was all too good to be true because Adam was simply too perfect.

"So, what have you decided?" The Queen's voice was loud and clear and drew Snow White back into their conversation.

"I refuse." He growled in response.

"Pardon me?" Snow White found herself blinking in surprise as well.

"I refuse to do it. From the moment I have arrived in Apfel she has done nothing." His voice grew louder as he spoke. "Nothing to you, you've hidden her away from the public so hardly anyone knows who she is; you've stripped her of her title and only recently given it to her for the face of Florian; she is the purest soul I have ever met and I refuse to spill her blood for you to create a body for that damn Mirror!" His voice spoke volumes and left Snow White feeling weak in her knees. "I have killed far worse, and far too less innocent souls for you by your command in my life. I am tired of doing the dirty work for you because you can't do it all by yourself." He was panting as he continued his little speech. "In my time it is due to your old decrepit age; here it is just because you don't want to get your pretty hands dirty; at least not any more than you have already. I refuse to be a part of your schemes anymore."

Silence immediately drew itself out as Adam stared down the Queen. All the while Snow White' heart beat in her chest out of both fear and adoration. She had no idea what to make of this situation, but she found herself being so incredibly proud of him for saying no to the Queen. Tension grew and it felt as though the room grew darker too.

"If that is how it is going to be, then so be it." He voice was cold and sharp as she glared at Adam. "The Mirror, for once, was wrong. You have betrayed me. You will suffer the consequences."

She could not believe it. She should have. She should have known. She should have known so much better than what her stupid girlish emotions had blinded her into believing, into feeling! Despite hearing it and knowing what his real reasons and purposes were every part in Snow White's very being screamed at her for thinking he would actually betray her.

Their lessons were so much difficult to go through afterwards because she wanted nothing to do with him, yet she wanted to be beside him. She more than anything wanted to know why; Why was he defending her? Why doesn't he want to kill her? Why was he supposed to kill her? Why, why, why were all the beginnings of her questions and it made it very difficult to focus on the lessons. She was ever so thankful that the reading portion had finished and he had her do spelling exercises. Had she kept reading she more than likely would have stopped and harassed him with all of her questions. She still wanted to ask him her questions, but she needed time to sort through her thoughts and her emotions so she would not act too irrationally.

A knock came at the library doors and Frederick entered. He strode into the room quietly and deemed her a smile.

"Hello, Princess Snow White." He bowed to her and looked to Adam. "Hello to you, Prince Adam."

"Do you need something?" He raised an eyebrow at Frederick. He looked so tired and looked as though he had some sort of storm brewing in his mind.

"I am just here to inform you that dinner is in the making and will be ready within the hour." He smiled down at Adam then turned to Snow White. "The Queen has requested that you change into an evening gown, Princess."

"Oh," Her brow furrowed slightly, but she scooted her chair out and stood. "Then I shall take my leave." She glanced at Adam. "What is my homework?"

"I haven't decided yet." He forced a smile and it only showed how tired he truly was and how something was deeply bothering him. It made another fury of questions bounce in her head. "I shall gather your things and leave a note with them."

"Thank you." She smiled as quickly as she could before she took her chance to escape the library. Any other time she would have been so excited to be there to continue her lessons, however, she wanted to be far far away from it. She tried to distract her thoughts from Adam but just found herself being more and more drawn to him instead. She was so deep in her war of thoughts that she had not realized that Prince Florian stood in waiting for her at the end of the hall.

"In such a hurry, Snow White?" His arms and ankles were crossed as he leaned against the stone wall. He was wearing his evening attire in bold colors. He wore a blood red and deep blue striped puffed shirt with white tight pants, tall black shiny boots, and another puffy red hat with a fluffy white plume sticking out of it. Everything in his attire was embroidered and hemmed in gold, he looked like the perfect representation of Franca.

His voice jarred her so violently that she jumped and she clutched her hand to her chest. "P-Prince Florian!" She took a deep breath to catch the air back into her lungs. "W-W-What are you doing here?"

"Oh, did I scare you?" He pushed himself off the wall and stepped towards her. There was nothing scary or alarming about him, but there was something about his aura as he walked towards her that she did not like. "I didn't mean to. I have the greatest news, and I couldn't wait to tell you!"

His hand reached for hers and she froze in place as his other one trapped her hand between his.

"What news, Prince Florian?" She forced a smile but she wanted nothing more than to run away from this man. She had to fight the urge of calling out to Adam.

"The Queen has given her approval!" He sounded overly giddy, but his eyes betrayed his act.

"Her approval?" She blinked and felt her body growing colder.

"Her approval of our engagement." He pulled her to him and held her in place at his chest.

"Engagement?" She gasped almost in horror. She knew that she told Adam that she would if she absolutely had to, she just never truly anticipated actually marrying Prince Florian . . . She had hoped that perhaps someone else; a certain someone else of course. "Y-You're sure?"

"Of course!" He laughed, picked her up by the waist and twirled her around in a circle. She was terribly alarmed by this.

"W-W-When did this happen?" She asked once he placed her back on her feet again. "She hasn't spoken to me about this yet."

"She wanted to make it as a surprise announcement at dinner." He chuckled and had such a mischievous grin on his face he almost looked like a villain. "But I just couldn't wait to tell you the news! But this has to be our little secret." He chuckled again as he whispered. "she'll be announcing it at dinner, so make sure to act surprised!"

"O-Of course." She forced a laugh so she would not cry.

"Oh, and I have a little present for you!" He was so giddy as he pulled a gown of royal blue and canary yellow hideous stripes out of his messenger bag of which she just saw that he had strapped to his hip.

"What is this?" She asked as he dropped the garment into her arms. It was rather heavy and it had an odd scent to it.

"This was my mother's Franca gown." He smiled brightly at her. "She sent it with me so that should I find the lucky princess she should dawn this on and return home with me to Franca."

"I-I see." She accepted it rather deflatedly. This was such a whirlwind of things she had no idea how she was supposed to respond.

"Make sure that you wear it for dinner!" He kissed her cheek. Her cheek burned slightly. "I think it will look as lovely on you as it did my mother."

"O-Of course." Her hand went to her cheek and she still tried to smile.

"Oh, and one more thing." He pinched the very cheek he kissed. "Work on that stuttering thing, it does get quite old." And with that he turned on his heel and left her standing in the hallway holding a hideous and stinking gown.

Her lips rolled into her mouth and her eyes began to burn as much as her cheek as she bolted to her room with the hideous dress in tow. The tears rolled down her face and she had no way of stopping them. She was so distraught after the day's events she had no idea what to do! She could hardly believe that her step mother would actually sell her off by marrying her to Prince Florian. She had sincerely thought that things had finally gotten better between them, she sincerely hoped that they would! Perhaps this was a test of sorts and if she played her part she wouldn't have to go through with the marriage. It was official, her step mother truly wanted her killed.

When she entered her room she slammed the door behind her, pressed her back to it and slid to the floor and just allowed the tears to fall. The shock of Adam's true intentions, the betrayal of her step mother, and now the disappointment of an actual engagement with Prince Florian simply drown her heart in tears and pain. The pain that she realized how simple and naïve she truly was; the pain that she was foolish for thinking things could possibly have gotten better between she and her step mother; but the real pain that plagued her with tears and hiccups and true hurt was that it was Prince Florian that had asked for an engagement with her and not Adam.

Her entire body shook as she could not stop the tears; she was so helpless. She had no choice in the situation and would have to do as her mother decreed and unless Adam were to fight back, though now that her hope was completely deflated that he would ever do so, she would ultimately become the useless wife to Prince Florian. Her mind whirled with despairing thoughts, and she prayed that she would actually be able to produce children. If Prince Florian were to act as terrible as King Henry VIII he would remove her from her status that she only recently regained or would have her killed, possibly even both. She was a useless woman in a demanding world and it would condemn her one way or another, this she slowly realized and could feel herself growing cold. With the coldness came the numbness, with the numbness the tears dried themselves and finally stopped.

Her eyes lazily looked to the striped dress in her lap and with great effort, she pushed herself to a stand to change into it. Walking to her small closet that now held three dresses with the exception of the fourth she currently and the hideous fifth in her hand, it was the most she had ever had the chance to own. Carefully removing one she wore, she carefully replaced it into the closet before dawning on the new striped one. The fabric was soft, yet the seams of the dress bothered her skin and made her want to scratch, she wouldn't but she wanted too. The dress once it was on her was not quite as hideous as it was in its shapeless form. From head to toe long vertical stripes of blue and yellow flourished around her in a full skirt and shrunk her already tiny waist. Until she had put the dress on she had not seen the white ruffled and puffed sleeves from the elbows to the wrists nor the high white collar that greatly bothered her neck. The dress was a hair too big for her petite frame, but she would wear it regardless because it was Prince Florian's request.

The high puffed collar had a strange smell that made Snow White pull the ruff from her face to breath properly and to have fresh air. It was obvious that the dress had been in some sort of stagnant space for a while and had not been properly aired out, but the dress itself was in great condition. She went over to the small vanity that the Queen had had installed and upgraded and pulled the sheet from the mirror. She stared at herself and found herself looking like a lady, not a queen, from Franca. She could not help but hope that they had more tasteful colors in Franca than the one she wore. Her curls seemed to sit on top of the neck ruff and she felt like an overly adorned doll in the ill-fitting dress. Still she would wear it and would wear the blue shoes that had been given to her to go with the dress.

She combed her fingers through her hair and tied a blue ribbon to hold the curls in place before re-covering the mirror with the sheet, fitting her feet in the shoes, and leaving her room to join the others for dinner. She walked slowly and as quietly as she could so as not to give herself away to anyone who would be looking out for her. Much to her chagrin Prince Florian was waiting outside of the dining hall for her and actually gaped at her in the most honest and impressed looking face she had seen yet. She forced a smile and felt the tiniest bit flattered, though she was exhausted and terrified.

"It looks positively wonderful on you, Snow White." Florian gushed as he approached her. "Though, I must say that my mother wore it better."

"Well, it was her dress originally." She laughed dryly and wanted nothing more than to return to her room and disappear for the rest of the evening.

"It still looks lovely on you." He had a weird smile on his face as he held her hand, pulled her to him and kissed her cheek. Her cheek burned yet again.

"T-Thank you, Prince Florian." She half curtsied. "I'm so glad that this pleases you."

"I must say that I like this change." He gestured to all of her. "You might turn out to be a lovely bride indeed."

He grabbed her hand and rested on his arm and escorted her into the dining room. Much to her ever growing anxiety he escorted her all the way to the head of the table and sat her at the right hand side of the Queen and trapped her there by sitting next to her. Neither Adam nor Frederick had arrived yet and Snow White felt as though she were the prey in the den of wolves. She almost wished she had never heard the conversation in the library, she would rather be ignorant and not know of their plans than sit in terrible waiting for them to exact their plans. Her hands in her lap were trembling and even grasping them tightly together wasn't enough to keep them from shaking.

"You look lovely in the Franca dress, Snow White." The Queen spoke to her. Her head snapped to attention as she was spoken too.

"O-Oh, thank you." She threw on a quick smile and only hoped that her voice was steady enough to not give away that she knew what they were doing.

"It would appear as though Florian here has ruined the surprise." She frowned. "He was supposed to give you the dress after dinner so you could wear it on the picnic tomorrow."

"I simply couldn't wait." Florian gushed. "I was simply too excited to keep it from her!"

"Well, the whole country will be hearing about it tomorrow." She waved it off with a smirk that Snow White would have originally seen as playful, but now only saw it as evil.

"The whole country will know what tomorrow?" His clear deep voice asked from the end of the table. He had just entered the room and he wore his usual attire of royal blue suit coat and white pants.

"Ah, Prince Adam." Her voice purred like a cat but slithered like a snake as she gestured to the seat on her left. "Join us! I have news!"

Without another word but with a steady line of eye contact Adam walked his way around the table to where he sat at the left side of the Queen and across from Snow White. It was almost unbearable to have him sit there. She had so many questions, so many emotions, and so many things she wanted to tell him that she wanted him to rescue her now and escape from the castle so they could get things ironed out between them. But now was not the time, this was not the place. She tried to look anywhere else but at him, but could not help but feel those gorgeous onyx eyes staring her down. The detailed lace over the table cloths was suddenly very interesting.

The Queen clapped her hands and the servants brought out trays that held their dinner. Both Adam and Snow White turned their noses up at the dishes. Apples and quails. Snow White could not take her eyes away from the dead roasted bird and frowned deeply as she saw she only had two apple slice on her plate. She would be going to bed hungry again.

"Everybody eat up." The Queen smiled as she stuck her fork into the quail.

"The news?" Adam pushed without touching his food.

"Patience, nephew." She dismissed and cut into her food.

Snow White very slowly and carefully picked the apples, onions, carrots, and potatoes from the quail and ate that and refused to touch the bird. While she carefully cut the fruits and vegetables and quietly ate, an odd feeling that she knew all too well and hated rested at her thigh. As she cut into her potatoes, she glanced down and saw that Prince Florian had a hand on her right thigh and was slowly drawing circles. She very tactfully crossed her ankles which would tighten her thighs together and pointed her knees away from Florian to deny him any sort of access. But his hand did not leave her thigh, and instead seemed to be in search of something.

"Is your meal all right, Snow White?" The Queen spoke up and pointed to her plate. "I see you've not touched your quail."

"I don't eat meat, your Majesty." She bowed her head in shame and embarrassment. "My stomach does not digest meat very well, especially game bird."

"Such a shame, really." Prince Florian spoke as he leaned closed and his hand seemed to have found what it was looking for. One way or another there was a hole or a pocket with a giant hole that his hand could fit through in the pleats of the skirt.

"Oh, I must agree." The Queen went back to cutting her own bird and popped a piece of the bird breast into her mouth. "I just love the breasts of birds."

"Yes, white meat is always good." His hand slithered past the chemise of her undergarments and crept towards her legs. Despite how far she had turned her legs away from him, his hand found the bare skin of her leg under her dress. "I must say that I am more of a dark meat and legs sort of person myself. The meat there is just so juicy."

He gave a firm squeeze that was almost hard enough for her to cry out, but she would not. Her face burned in embarrassment and she wanted to disappear. She would not give him any satisfaction that he would win or have his way with her. She would fight him if it were absolutely necessary. She kept her eyes on her plate and tried to fight the heat that was building in her eyes as she was overtly aware of Adam's gaze on her.

"Indeed." The Queen raised one eyebrow as she cast a glance at Prince Florian, but said nothing before returning to her meal. Florian did not remove his hand and continued to try to massage her leg with constant pinches, but she refused him still as he tried to creep deeper into crevices he had no right to. Despite her continuing to turn her knees away from him his hand lingered, massaging circles in her thigh and digging his nails into her skin in an attempt to pry them free. She merely bit her lip and kept her ankles and knees locked together as tightly as she could and fought off the tears that burned in her eyes.

They all ate in silence and while the Queen and Prince Florian both seemed to enjoy eating their meal, though both Adam and Snow White looked and felt miserable. Once the Queen had had her fill, she delicately dabbed the cloth napkin to her mouth before setting it down to signify that she was done eating. It was only then that Prince Florian removed his hand and propped his chin in his hand as he leaned over to his right. However, his hand found Snow White's and he grasped it tightly.

"Since we've all seemed to have eaten our fill, I will now give my announcement." The Queen took a quick sip form her goblet before setting it down on the table and looked to both Adam and Frederick. Florian gripped her hand even tighter and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. "I have decided to allow the engagement between Snow White and Florian to commence."

Adam went rigid, his eyes boring into the Queen's before turning to Snow White. It was at this moment that Snow White made herself look at Adam. She had no idea what to make of his expression it was blank but there was screaming going on in his eyes. His eyes flicked from Prince Florian to Snow white, as if asking what she wanted to do. She had no idea what she wanted to do. She felt as though she had an obligation to the Queen as both a princess and the kindness that had been given to her. However, she neither liked nor loved Prince Florian and his bold advances this evening had depleted any chances he could have had with her. As much as she wanted to say no to both the Queen and to Prince Florian, the only way she would make it out of this situation would be if Adam spoke up.

"Since when?" He asked still staring at Snow White.

"I approved of it this afternoon." She Queen answered airily. "However Prince Florian could not wait and told her before dinner."

"I've been smitten as a kitten since I first laid eyes on her and I simply must have her." He squeezed her hand even tighter and she felt something pop in her hand. She could feel the water brimming in her eyes as she looked down and away from Adam to hide the pain on her face.

"I highly doubt that." Adam's voice was low and she could tell that he was furious. She looked up at him and he was glaring venomous daggers at Prince Florian, especially as he noticed the fact that Florian was holding her hand.

"Do you have something against Snow White's betrothal to Prince Florian?" The Queen mused and studied Adam carefully. Snow White didn't want Adam to have to gain any more scars or go through anything else because of her; she hoped he wouldn't say anything.

"Yes, yes I do." He growled and she could see him grabbing the edge of the table to control his temper as best as he could, despite this, she could only watch to see what he would say and do.

"And what is that?" The Queen mused and they all turn to him expectantly to hear what he has to say.

However, he only stared at Snow White, anger flickering and tipping him over to do something irrational, his eyes demanding what she wanted. She could only stare back at him because where she was she needed him to save her from the villains that sat at either side of her. When she conveyed nothing to him, he did the oddest thing. He stood up and stormed out of the room. Once he left the dining hall his footsteps turned into running steps on the marble floors until there was a loud slam of the front doors.

"Well if that wasn't a temper tantrum, I don't know what it was." Prince Florian snorted triumphantly and placed a kiss on Snow White's hand.

"Indeed." The Queen's nostrils flared as she glared after Adam.

"So, shall I be coming to your room, or shall you be coming to mine?" Prince Florian purred in Snow White's ear and her skin felt as though bugs were crawling on her arms.

"You shall go to your separate rooms, Prince Florian." The Queen commanded. "I do not care that you are from Franca and that you have different traditions upon your engagements. While you are here in Apfel you shall abide by our traditions and customs and sleep in your own room."

"But your Highness –"

"Do I make myself clear, Prince Florian?" She arched that long thin eyebrow at him and he frowned deeply.

"Of course, your Highness." His nose turned up as he feigned a smile. He placed another kiss on Snow White's cheek. "Until next time Snow White."

He stood and dismissed himself from the table. Once he was out of the dining hall the Queen turned to Snow White with a smile. "Aren't you excited about your engagement?" She smiled brightly but after hearing today's conversation she knew that the Queen was merely putting on another act for her. Luckily the Queen didn't know that Snow White had overheard the conversation today.

"I'm just a little surprised is all . . ." She laughed nervously and rubbed her arm. The crawling feeling would not go away right along with the burning of her cheek. "It was very fast, a-and so unexpected."

"Well, I wouldn't say entirely unexpected." The Queen chuckled. "You are still young, though by marrying status you should be considered an old maid."

"R-Right." She gulped and tried to laugh along with the Queen.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine, pet." She reached her hand out and cradled Snow White's cheek in it. Her hand was so cold. "You've got such a pretty face you're bound to have many pretty babies and have a nice happy life."

She gently patted Snow White's cheek, but it might as well have been a slap to the face. Snow White could not have children, this she was certain that the Queen knew, and she was either being cruel or actually forgot of this important matter in the realm of aristocracy. As Snow White looked at the Queen of Apfel, her cruel step mother, she could not help but see the vision of Death and how she just sealed her fate.

"Well, let's get going dear." The Queen stood and dusted herself off. "Let's see what you shall wear for tomorrow."

"O-Of course." She gulped and while trembling, forced herself to stand and lead her step mother to her room yet again. She walked the long halls in silence because she knew of nothing to say and she feared that if she spoke that her voice would wobble and give herself away. The Queen did not seem to notice or said nothing as she entered the room and strode over to her wardrobe. She opened both doors and looked at the four dresses that hung on their hangers before looking back at Snow White.

"Is this is?" Her brow was furrowed. "I thought that I sent you several dresses!"

"Y-You d-did step mother." She gulped and fidgeted with the sleeves of her dress. "But many of them were too big and were returned to you. . ."

"Too big?" She crossed her arms and glowered down at Snow White. "Are you implying that I was heavier than you?"

"Not at all, step mother." She quickly shook her head. "Only that you were more . . . blessed in certain areas that I was not. . ." She gestured to her own chest and hips. "I am as thin as a broom and have no curves whatsoever. . . I simply could not wear the dresses you offered."

"There there, pet." She patted the top of Snow White's head. "All is well, I just needed to make sure that the dresses were delivered. Though this does seem to put a damper on things."

"I-I am making one, step mother." She spoke quickly.

"Is it finished?" She asked as she looked to the wardrobe again.

"N-Not yet." She hid her hands behind her back. "I will finish with it tonight so that I can wear it for tomorrow."

"Well, at least that's a bit of good news." She sounded delighted. "I will look forward to seeing it tomorrow."

"Yes, step mother." She watched as the Queen strode out of her room, shut the door loudly behind her without so much as a goodbye or goodnight. Finally alone Snow White crumpled to the floor and she hugged herself. That terrible crawling and burning feeling had still yet to leave her. She rubbed at her arms but found that the material of the dress had made things worse.

Feeling constrained she not too carefully stripped out of the Franca dress all the way down to her chemise where her skin was finally free from the dress, but it had left marks on her. Tiny little bite marks riddled her arms and thighs and almost caused Snow White to scream. She looked down and saw that there were ants within the dress and some on her arms. She could not stop herself from squealing and panicking as she ran to her basin tub of water and desperately tried to remove the ants and the itching. It provided her with temporary relief but thankfully removed all of the ants from her skin.

She scrambled through her bottles for her lavender oil and peppermint oils to rub on her bitten skin. The lavender soothed the itching and the peppermint calmed the burning. A soft sigh of deep relief came from her as she rubbed the oils into her skin and her panic finally dissipated.

"What a terrible day . . ." She sniffled and the tears trickled down her face one more. While she was at her basin tub of water she carefully rinsed her face, ran some water through her curls and bathed with the soft rag that she had. The water was cold, which soothed her ant bites, but chilled her already trembling self. She toweled herself off with a small hand towel before going the wardrobe and pulling on the soft flannel nightgown she owned. It was very short on her, but it would keep her warm throughout the night.

She went to her small sewing basket and picked up her materials so she could continue her sewing. She only needed to finish adding the bodice to the skirts and she could call it done and be ready to wear it for tomorrow.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!_

_Hang on tight everyone we're going on a bit of a roller coaster! I've gotten most of the next few chapters written, but I'm a little hesitant on them at the moment. The Story and I are at a bit of odds with each other because we keep arguing over what would be better, lol. Things are going great though, so please look forward to more._

_Please leave me more reviews! I love reading your feedback._

_I also want to thank those of you who have been writing me reviews and sending me messages giving me your thoughts, both critical, positive, and negative._

_Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	30. Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

The moment Adam stepped foot into the dining hall he knew something was off. The air was thick and stale and Snow White was between the two devils that sought out to kill her. Adam still struggled to come up with a plan to get her out of here. He could only hope that his little friend in the mountains would be enough to convince his brethren to actually help him; that is of course if he isn't mad at him for leaving him in the middle of the night. He would take his chances. He merely stood at the entrance and watched as they mockingly gushed over Snow White and she seemed to shrink between them and in that hideous dress.

"You look lovely in the Franca dress, Snow White." The Queen spoke to her. Her head snapped to attention as she was spoken too.

"O-Oh, thank you." She threw on a quick smile but Adam could tell that she was clearly not comfortable there and wanted to be anywhere else but there.

"It would appear as though Florian here has ruined the surprise." She frowned. Surprise? What surprise? Would she dare actually tell Snow White what her plans truly were? That the whole motherly tone was just an act? "He was supposed to give you the dress after dinner so you could wear it on the picnic tomorrow."

"I simply couldn't wait." Florian gushed. No wonder the dress was hideous he himself already had terrible fashion sense as it was. Snow White could wear anything and still be beautiful. Adam had already seen her dressed in rags and in the scullery maid's attire, she still shined beautifully. "I was simply too excited to keep it from her!"

"Well, the whole country will be hearing about it tomorrow." She waved it off. "The whole country will know what tomorrow?" Adam finally spoke up as he kept his gaze level with the Queen.

"Ah, Prince Adam." Her voice purred like a cat but slithered like a snake as she gestured to the seat on her left. "Join us! I have news!"

Without another word but with a steady line of eye contact Adam walked his way around the table to where he sat at the left side of the Queen and across from Snow White. As he took his seat he noticed that Snow White simply refused to look at him as if it was almost unbearable to have him sit there. The detailed lace over the table cloths was suddenly very interesting. He turned his gaze from the Queen to Snow White and tried to get her attention. Something was deeply troubling her for her to avoid his gaze so vehemently as she was. It pricked a pain in his chest and he did not like that. He hated it when she wouldn't look at him, as if she were ashamed of something or had a secret to hide.

The Queen clapped her hands and the servants brought out trays that held their dinner. Adam relaxed his gaze momentarily for the servants to come and set his plate before him. As soon as they pulled the cover off of the dish, Adam internally groaned. Apples and quails. Snow White could not take her eyes away from the dead roasted bird and frowned deeply and Adam noticed that she had even little fruits and vegetables on her plate that would keep her stomach hungry.

"Everybody eat up." The Queen smiled as she stuck her fork into the quail.

"The news?" Adam pushed without touching his food. He had eaten far too much quail and apples in his life and he was beyond sick of it. He did not care that it was the Queen's favorite or that it was a delicacy.

"Patience, nephew." She dismissed and cut into her food rather aggressively, but also teasingly as if to draw the suspension out longer. Adam did not like this at all. The hair son the back of his neck had begun to stand on end.

For the sake of keeping up with appearances Adam picked away at the food. He would not get any answers out of the Queen until she had had her fill and deemed the meal finished. As he picked at his food his eyes were drawn to Snow White as she carefully picked the apples, onions, carrots, and potatoes from the quail and ate that and refused to touch the bird. He loved that loyal and stubborn side within her, it was so precious and so innocent.

As he ate he kept his head down but let his eyes linger on Snow White. Even in the hideous dress she was still beautiful and graceful. He continued to study her face when he watched her glance down at her lap and shifted. Adam's eyes instantly went to Florian who was still eating but keeping his eyes on Adam and had his left hand under the table. The fire burned within Adam instantly. His grip on his fork and knife tightened and he could already feel the knife bending to hid heated and growing anger. Despite the warning but calm face that Adam had, but Florian only further challenged him by continuing whatever it is he was doing. Adam felt as though he were boiling in his seat.

"Is your meal all right, Snow White?" The Queen spoke up and pointed to Snow White's plate. "I see you've not touched your quail."

"I don't eat meat, your Majesty." She bowed her head in shame and embarrassment. "My stomach does not digest meat very well, especially game bird."

"Such a shame, really." Prince Florian keeping eye contact with Adam leaned closed and his hand seemed to have found what it was looking for. The fork in Adam's hand began to bend as well.

"Oh, I must agree." The Queen went back to cutting her own bird and popped a piece of the bird breast into her mouth. "I just love the breasts of birds."

"Yes, white meat is always good." There was a dangerous challenging fire in Florian's face and Adam was very quickly ready to erupt. "I must say that I am more of a dark meat and legs sort of person myself. The meat there is just so juicy."

Adam broke his eye contact with Florian and looked to snow White. She still refused to look at Adam and looked very uncomfortable as her face burned deep red in embarrassment. She kept her eyes on her plate and Adam kept his gaze on her. He wasn't sure what Florian was doing, but it was definitely causing her discomfort. All she had to do was say something, even if she just looked at him and told him with her eyes, he would do something.

"Indeed." The Queen raised one eyebrow as she cast a glance at Prince Florian, but said nothing before returning to her meal.

They all ate in silence and Adam was waiting for the motion, the notion, or the word to do something about Florian; but nothing ever came. Florian already angered him, now that Snow White was being stubborn it bothered him deeply, but what was worse was that he felt as though she were keeping tight lipped because of the promise they'd made earlier in the day. . . Oh how he wished he had never made that promise.

Once the Queen had had her fill, she delicately dabbed the cloth napkin to her mouth before setting it down to signify that she was done eating. It was only then that Prince Florian removed his hand and propped his chin in his hand as he leaned over to his right. However, his hand found Snow White's and he grasped it tightly. Adam's teeth clenched tightly together.

"Since we've all seemed to have eaten our fill, I will now give my announcement." The Queen took a quick sip form her goblet before setting it down on the table and looked to both Adam and Frederick. Snow white still would not look at him, it was driving him mad and only adding fuel to the growing fire. "I have decided to allow the engagement between Snow White and Florian to commence."

Time stopped, the fire went cold, and a prickling numbness stabbed his heart. Adam stared at the Queen to make sure he had heard her correctly. The old hag merely cocked her thin eyebrow at him and hid her smirk behind her goblet as she took a victorious sip. The old hag was playing down and dirty now and Adam could feel his heart drumming.

What should he do?

What could he do?

Then realization hit him. Snow White had mentioned earlier in the library that she would marry Florian if she was told to by the Queen. Had she been trying to tell him something? She wasn't this distraught earlier today, so she could have, could she? He believed that the old hag would and could make anyone do anything she wanted, whether it was by seduction or torture, she would always have her way.

But what if she agreed?

What if this was her choice?

Adam tore his gaze from the Queen and slowly turned to Snow White. It was at this moment that Snow White made herself look at Adam. He was finally able to see those doe brown eyes, those sweet loving eyes that were only ever full of kindness and light, those eyes had been tarnished by the devils on either side of her and there was nothing but fear there. She was scared to move, scared to speak, she couldn't even tell him with her eye what she wanted; that drove him mad. He could only stare at her, waiting for her to tell him something, anything.

Do you want this?

His eyes flicked to Florian, but she made no motion.

Do you want out of this?

His eyes glanced at the Queen, but she made no motion.

Do you want me to save you?

He asked, but she made no motion.

How can I help?

He tried to ask another way, but she made no motion.

What can I do to fix this?

He pleaded and he could feel himself slipping, but she made no motion.

Just tell me!

He begged, but she made no motion.

I promise I'll find some way to fix this, just tell me!

But she sat there trembling as a leaf eyes locked with his, but remaining silent. He could tell that she did not want this, that she wanted anything else but this, but she would not give any hint otherwise. He could feel his heart burning, freezing, squeezing, prickling, aching. He could not reveal anything though, if he were to slip and break now the Queen would know and the game would be up, Florian would know and make a scene, Snow White would know and she would never look at him the same way. . .

As much as she wanted to say no to both the Queen and to Prince Florian, the only way she would make it out of this situation would be if Adam spoke up.

"Since when?" He asked, his voice was raw, it felt unfamiliar and feral to him, still staring at Snow White.

Just tell me. . .

"I approved of it this afternoon." She Queen answered airily. "However Prince Florian could not wait and told her before dinner."

Do you want this . . . ?

"I've been smitten as a kitten since I first laid eyes on her and I simply must have her." Adam heard a pop from her hand and he was at his wits end of control. His promise to her and her being present was the only thing keeping him in his seat. He continued to stare her down.

Do you want out of this?

Though she was keeping a very strong poker face, he saw the water brimming in her eyes as she looked down and away from Adam to hide the pain on her face.

Do not hide from me! Do you want me to save you?

"I highly doubt that." Adam's voice was low and he had to grab the table. He needed something to hold to ensure that this wasn't a nightmare; he hated that it wasn't.

Tell me.

"Do you have something against Snow White's betrothal to Prince Florian?" The Queen mused and studied Adam carefully. He chose to ignore the Queen's prying glances. She was too aware of everything. She was on top of the hill, she had the advantage while he was in the valley, but he didn't care. He would take the arrows, the stones, the swords, he would take it all if he could just get her out here and save her.

How can I help?

He could see that she, Snow White, was trying to carry the entire kingdom of Apfel on her shoulders and do the right things, but he could also see how it was crushing her. He could see that she was losing hope, that she felt hopeless, that she needed wanted help. She finally sat up, straight and tall in her seat, and finally cast a fading glance at Adam.

I promise I'll find some way to fix this, just tell me!

He was ready. Her doe brown eyes glanced at him, but still said nothing.

"Yes, yes I do." He growled.

Tell me!

"And what is that?" The Queen mused and they all turn to him expectantly to hear what he has to say. Finally those doe brown eyes, waiting expectantly to hear his response, finally looked at him. It was the faintest sliver of light, but the warmth came back to them and as the water threatened to roll over the dam.

Save me, please. . .

It was just the faintest whisper, but he heard it.

I will. I promise.

The fires of his anger rekindled and there was a drive, a passion, that made him want to help her. He would help her. All the anger that would have tipped him over to do something irrational now had a goal, a purpose, and was redirected into putting all of his efforts into something better than mass destruction.

With nothing left to say to the Queen, he stood up and stormed out of the room. The mountains were far and getting to the Dwarves would not necessarily be difficult but it surely was not going to be easy. Although he wanted to tell Snow White of his plans it would only put her in even more danger, he needed to get to the mountain as soon as possible. He was so set on his missions that he had not heard Frederick racing up behind him trying to catch up with him.

"Prince Adam!" He called after Adam after they had exited the castle.

He stopped and turned to wait for Frederick. He could not wait long, he needed to leave.

"What is it?" He asked lost in thought. He had no idea what he would say to the Dwarves. They were

"'What is it'?" Frederick blanched. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?" Adam tried going over a few different ways in which he could ask for them to hide Snow White away for a while.

"At dinner!" Frederick snapped and grabbed him by the suit collar. "What the hell were you thinking? How could you now speak up? I thought you cared for her! How dare you let her be stuck in there with the wolves!"

"I know where I'm going to take her." Adam pried Frederick's hands off of him.

"What?" He blinked in confusion.

"I know where I'm taking her; Snow White." He continued his thought. "I know of people in the woods. . . One of them likes me so they might take her in if I ask . . ."

"People in the woods?" Frederick repeated. "What sorts of people? Prince Adam, if you want Snow White to be safe you cannot simply ask anyone to just take care of her!"

"She needs saving!" Adam snapped. "She doesn't need to be taken care of by anyone but me!"

As soon as the words left his mouth his face burned.

"Well it's nice you're a little romantic." Frederick snorted. "But we have a bit of a bigger issue here. Snow White is officially engaged to the prince of Franca! How do you plan on getting her out of here now?"

"I'll take her to my people in the morning." Adam answered calmly.

"You can't be serious." He scoffed.

"If I leave now, get their permission, I can be back by dawn to take her away from here." Adam most expressed his thoughts out loud and had not actually thought them through in great details, but there was so little time.

"What am I supposed to tell people here?" Frederick asked, his anger dissipating.

"Tell them I went to my house in the village." He gave a shrug. "But if you can, I need you to tell Snow White that I am not abandoning her."

"Good job showing that at dinner."

"If I would have spoken out against the marriage I would have had to explain too much and would have put her in more danger." As well as revealing too many truths that were against the secret rules of the Anti-Realm. "Since you and I both know that Florian and the Queen are working together, they are just trying to bait me to see how I will respond."

"Be that as it may." Frederick fisted Adam's suit collar again and stared him in the eyes. Bottle green eyes having a fire in them as he looked at Adam. "The way you just walked out of there was nothing of a prince or a gentleman. The way you walked out made it look like you were a man who had just admitted defeat."

"I never admit defeat." Adam responded coolly and Frederick's grip loosened and his eyes widened at his response. "Whether Snow White knows it or not, she asked me to help. I'm helping her in the only way that I can to ensure she stays safe."

"You really couldn't just make this easy on anyone, could you?" Frederick sighed, released him and ran his hand through his hair. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to protect Snow White, keep her away from Florian." Adam's hands balled into fists at the mention of his name. "That fool touched her, he did something to her. Keep her away from him for her own safety and so I don't kill him. . ."

"Oh, you don't plan on killing him?" Frederick crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I can't. I want too, but I can't." He winced.

"Why can't you?"

"I promised her that I wouldn't hurt him. . ." He grimaced at the sound of his own words. Oh how he had gone weak. . . yet he somehow felt stronger.

"Good luck with that." Frederick turned his nose up. "But I promise to keep her safe until you get her out of here."

"Thank you." He nodded and felt relieved that he had at least one ally on the inside. As he looked at the young Frederick that stood before him, he simply could not wrap his head around the devotion he had for the Evil Queen. This man stood by her side and has seen all of the terrible things she has done, and yet he is risking everything to save her from the monster she was trying to become. It was that woman that he loved that caused him to end up in the Anti-Realm; he was too good for her. Adam could only hope that at the end of all of this that Frederick could get his own Happy Ending and not end up in the Anti-Realm.

"What should I say to Snow White?" Frederick asked and looked around them. "She won't take it very well that you just up and left. . ."

"Give me a minute. . ." He pulled his quill and journal from his inside breast pocket. He hadn't written in the damn thing in a while so it would be perfect for him to write a quick note to Snow White. He flipped the book open and found the cleanest pages to write on.

My dearest, Snow White,

Forgive me absence at this present time, but I shall and will not abandon you to the fate of marrying a fool, regardless that he is a prince. I cannot tell you everything right now, but I will once I have gotten everything in order. You are in danger and should not be in the castle.

I promise that I will save you. I will see you with the rising sun.

Sincerely,

Adam.

He folded the note over and handed it over to Frederick, who unabashedly took it and read it.

"Really?" He looked up at Adam. "This is what you want to tell her?"

"That is for her, not you!" Adam snapped his book closed and tucked it into his breast pocket.

"You can't even do a little 'x' and 'o', or a heart?" Frederick continued. "This is so ambiguous."

"Frederick!"

"All right." He rolled his eyes and folded the note over in his pocket and tucked it away in his own breast pocket. "What should I do if something happens and you don't come back?"

"I will be back."

"But say you shouldn't?"

Adam had to pause on this. He had never actually thought about what would happen to Snow White or even Frederick should something happen to him. Would this Realm stop working because he failed his mission? His hand went to his chin.

"I will be back." He repeated with a shake of his head. "Don't you dare start doubting me now. Just keep her safe until I come back."

"As you wish." Frederick sighed. "Then I'll let you go now."

Frederick turned on his heel and reentered the castle while Adam began his long journey up to the mountain.

* * *

FREDERICK

Frederick just had to come to terms with the fact that royals were a royal pain in the ass. Between Grimhilde and Florian, and now Adam there was no rest for the loyal knight and hunter. A sigh escaped him as he walked down the halls to Snow White's room. He had no idea how he was going to explain any of this to her. He had hope that Adam would have taken a little bit more time to explain things to her, but that mountain is one long trip, especially on foot and without a horse.

Things had noticeably calmed down after dinner and no one seemed to have a comment or a joke to make about Adam's leaving, though even he had to admit that it was awkward and even a little dramatic. However, after watching him at dinner when he was using his entire being in holding himself back from lunging across the table to kill Florian, maybe it wasn't that awkward at all. Frederick had no idea that someone's will could be that strong. Had it been Frederick and he had seen a man, even though he be a prince, feeling up the woman he loved he would not have had that much self-control . . .

He stood in front of Snow White's door and debated on what to say. What could he say? This wasn't something he could exactly explain easily, especially since she more than likely had very little to no idea about the plans and attempts to kill her. He took a deep breath and knocked softly. He heard a soft sniffle and the slapping of bare feet on the stone floors as she approached.

"Oh, Frederick." She blinked away her disappointment. "Good evening."

"Evening, Princess." He smirked down at her. He couldn't help it, it was so cute and sad that she had really hoped that Adam would have been the one to be here instead of him. "I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"N-No." She shook her head. "No, it's not like that – "

"You were just hoping for someone else." He smiled softly at her and plucked the note from his pocket.

"Someone who isn't the prince of Franca. . ." He handed the note to her.

"What's this?" She took it with a furrowed brow.

"It's from Prince Adam." He spoke in a hushed tone. He watched as her face flushed slightly. Her brow furrowed deeper as she opened the letter and read the note. She looked both confused and frightened at the same time.

"What does he mean by this?" She held the note out and looked to Frederick before reading it over again.

"I knew he wasn't clear enough. . ." He huffed and cleared his throat. "Princes Snow White, there are some things that have come to my attention and for your benefit and safety we're –"

"Is this because my step mother wants to kill me?" She asked bluntly and she looked so tired. So tired of being hated by her step mother, so tired of being punished for things she never did, so tired of running to live after having so many people have tried to kill her.

"You know?" Frederick dead panned and could only blink at her.

"I overheard Adam and the Queen talking in the library. . ." She grabbed her arm and sniffled as tears threatened to fall. "Apparently she and Prince Florian are working together to get rid of me. . . My engagement is just sealing my fate."

"When did you hear this?" His brow furrowed as he watched her. She was so far from being her normal self it was as though the little girl who has been suffering for these last few years finally surfaced. She was still a pretty little thing, but behind that smile she knew that this was all a farce that her step mother would never love her and would continue to get rid of her. Despite wanting to be a good daughter and do everything she was told and put up with everything to get in the good graces of the Queen, she was so tired, so hurt, and she looked so done with her life in this world.

"Right before lunch." She looked down at the note, her curls falling around her face so he could not read it. "I brought lunch in and they were talking . . ."

"You know that he would never –" He started, then stopped. He had no idea what he was going to say. He hardly knew Adam. Yes, he had been assigned to watch over him when he first arrived, and he knew of his great powers, however, there were still plenty of things that he had no clue of.

"Part of me knows." She admitted as she looked up at him. He had never noticed how exhausted she looked, how bone thin she was, how strong she was. . . "But another part of me also believes that he still would. . ." Her tiny hand gripped the note so tightly that it crinkled in her hand.

"He wouldn't –" Frederick started, but she cut him off.

"Even if he did, Frederick." She forced such a sad smile on her face. "I think I would let him. . . He has always been honest with me with everything he has told me. He's never once betrayed my trust, he's always been there for me, he's . . . he's . . . he's just too perfect."

"Perfect is stretching it pretty far there, princess." Frederick forced a laugh. "No one is perfect."

"He is." She shook her head in disagreement. "He's a little scary, and he's suffered just as much as I have if not more, a-and I know he's done bad things, terrible things . . . but he has a really really good heart."

She looked him in the eyes. "I know he's done terrible things, but he is so so kind, Frederick. He's always made me feel safe, he's always attended to me, helped me, he's . . . shown me what love and how to be loved can be."

Frederick's eyes widened at that comment.

"I know I will never receive a mother's love from the Queen, nor will I receive a husband's love from Florian; especially if and when he discovers that I cannot have children." She stood taller as she spoke. "But, had I never met Adam I don't think I would have ever known what a true form of love would have been."

A more honest smile appeared on her face as she beamed up at Frederick.

"And that's the reason he's fighting so hard to keep you safe, Princess." Frederick placed his hand on her head and gently patted the curls. "I know he messed up really badly this evening at dinner. I'm actually more mad at him for not speaking up than anything. . ."

"It wasn't his place." She shook her head in disagreement. "It would have reflected bad on his reputation."

"He said nothing because he did not want to put you in any more danger, Princess." Frederick said sternly. "He is not concerned with what his reputation looks like. He is concerned with your safety. Which is why tomorrow I need you to be up and ready for when he comes for you."

"You think he'll really come?" She asked timidly.

"I know he will." He smiled reassuringly. "He's promised both you and I that he will. Prince Adam does not go back on his promises, of that we can both be rest assured on."

"Thank you, Frederick." She took a deep breath and looked as though she were able to return to her usual self. "I needed this. . ." She tapped the note in her hand. "I needed this so much. I was very seriously beginning to lose hope."

"You should probably go and get some rest, princess." Frederick took a step back. "The sun comes up early when you're expecting it."

"Good night, Frederick." She smiled and could see hope bubbling up within her as she closed the door.

"Good night." He smiled as he walked a few paces from the door and decided to set up his post right outside her door. Adam would keep his promise to return and Frederick would keep his promise to keep Snow White safe; even if Grimhilde herself came down the hall he would protect her.

* * *

QUEEN GRIMHILDE

After dinner and Adam had stormed off and Snow White had gone to her own room, both Florian and the Evil Queen went to the dungeons. The cauldron bubbled and boiled nicely though the stench of decay would not leave the room. Florian sat on the steps as far away from the cauldron as possible sharpening the dagger while Grimhilde loomed over her grimoire studying the spells and incantations she would need to say to continue the recipe.

Due to the rain and having to deal with the cleanup of yesterday's fiasco it gave them plenty of time to discuss their plans and create a pretty plot to get rid of Snow White. Grimhilde knew that Snow White would be surprised, though she did not anticipate her being so disappointed. She half expected her to be jumping around, squealing and being giddy, and perhaps had she met Florian first she would have. Since Adam's arrival he has drawn quiet attention to himself, though he has tried to go unnoticed, and has turned her entire kingdom upside down on her. Snow White has high interests in him that Florian was merely a second thought; the way in which he spoke of her future actually made her believe that she had a terrible life; but what is worse is that since Adam's arrival Frederick has been turned against her and she's had to put up with the prince of Franca as his replacement. She glanced over at the temperamental fool who slid his hand down the blade and nearly sliced his hand open.

"If you're testing for sharpness that is not the most efficient way, Prince Florian." She called over her shoulder, rolling her eyes.

"Nonsense." He snorted. "If it cuts me then it will go through Snow White's pretty little chest in no problem."

"Please refrain from drawing your blood with it." She turned and looked down at him. "For the creation of the body everything must be absolutely pure. If your blood touches the blade before it touches Snow White then it will entirely ruin this process because of your contamination!"

"No need to shout." He rolled his eyes and slipped the blade into its sheath. "So I can just kill her once we've left the people, yes?"

"No." Her nostrils flared and her hands within her robes tighten so that the nails dug into her skin.

"But I thought we –"

"Once we draw her away from the crowds to have our royal picnic without the peasants near us," She explained slowly. "Then you shall take her into the woods where no lurking or prying eyes can witness the deed that needs to be done. You really wouldn't want to tarnish the name of Franca, would you?"

"Of course I wouldn't!" He snapped childishly and stood with his arms crossed. "If I were to embarrass my father or to even be caught in the act of killing her and were to start a war my father would have my head!"

"Yes. . ." She resisted any dejecting comments she could make of him in how he was already an embarrassment to not only his father but Franca as well. "Why don't you go on to bed? You'll need your rest for tomorrow."

"And what of you?" He leaned his head back as he looked up at her.

"I am just going to do a little bit of reading before I leave as well, Prince Florian." She smiled curtly. "I will be ready for things come morning."

"If you insist." He smiled boyishly before taking the stairs two at a time as he left the dungeons.

Grimhilde rolled her eyes as she turned back to her grimoire and studied over the recipe.

"I'm very surprised by your ability to get along with the Prince of Franca. . ." The Mirror comments from his place on the wall. He's been uncharacteristically quiet for the last two days.

"I don't see why not." She raised an eyebrow at him. "You are the one that provided me with a tool to use."

"Yes." The Mirror agreed. "Though I would recommend you tread more carefully with your trust in that boy. His intentions are not as willing or loyal as you would think. Killing things has apparently been a past hobby of his and he is a little too giddy to get his hands on Snow White. . ."

"And this is concern of mine?" She crossed her arms and approached him.

"Yes, it should be." He droned. "Though he is willing to kill for you now does not mean he won't turn on you and be the one to kill you later. . . Murder and killing for this sort of masterpiece is something that often times has a bad effect on mortals."

"You say this as if you've learned from experience." Her brow furrowed.

"Though you have been an excellent ruler and master over me since you have conjured me up, My Queen, you are not the first person to have summoned me."

"Is that so?"

"How else do you think that grimoire was made? That it just appeared into existence one day?" The Mirror snapped. "Someone has to have written it, or at least started it while the followers and those who use the book continue its work."

"That is fair to expect, Mirror." She hissed. "What I want to know is what has happened to these previous masters of yours."

"They went mad with power, guilt, and deep bounds of depression." He answered simply. "Killing the innocent has a terrible way of messing with the mind."

"Then why do you require such pure ingredients?"

"Tell me, My Queen." He spoke quickly. "When a baby is born into this world does it automatically know how to kill a person? When to assault someone? Does it know how to lie?"

"No. . ." She answered slowly.

"An infant is one of the purest beings in the world because they are dependent on its parents, its makers to feed it, to clothe it, to keep it safe until it can one day fend for itself, think for itself." The Mirror explained. "For me to have a body of my own that will be of service to you, I must have a pure body of my own that has not been corrupted by you mortals."

"Corrupted indeed." She snorted. "Very well, I understand what you say, but that still does not entirely answer my question."

"Tell me, My Queen." Those eyeless sockets bore holes into her own. "Why is it that you have had everyone else around you, aside from your oath and your own thirst for blood, try to kill Snow White, hm?"

Suddenly her heart hammered in her chest and the nails in her arms dug deeper. She did not reply and looked to him expectantly for an answer.

"Because even though you loath the life that Snow White had in comparison to you." The Mirror almost seemed to glare at her. "You know that if you killed her you would either be terribly guilty to have gotten rid of your once upon a time innocence, or you will relish in finally having killed your prey for years that you will relish in it and fall into the madness and darkness that you know you will not be able to return from."

His eyeless sockets stared deeply into her own and demanded a response; remanded that she argue; demanded that she deny it.

"Do you deny it?" He asked.

"From this thirst of blood I have come to know and crave." She pointed to the cells of dead bodies of the poor innocent souls who she sucked dry. "I know that there is little, if any, chance for me to return to being normal, to being . . . human."

"If it gives you peace, My Queen." The Mirror offered. "You do possess the slimmest opportunity to regain most of what you've lost, and that is simply because you still have some humanity within you as well as a slow dying conscience."

Her eyes widened at his words and her teeth gritted tightly together in her mouth. She had no idea what to make of his words, if they were even honest anymore if they even held the slimmest amount of truth in them anymore. After Adam's betrayal and the hundreds of times that he told her to trust the boy he outright betrayed her. Instead of killing Snow White to ensure she the Evil Queen has a Happy Ending he has decided to save the wretched girl and ensure that he himself has the Happy Ending.

"We will just have to see about that." She merely responded and turned her back on the Mirror. She returned to grimoire. Though this was to be a body for the Mirror, there was still time to make a few changes if it were necessary. Besides, she needs a puppet who will mindlessly obey her, not a powerful man who will try to overthrow her. Her fingers flipped a few pages over until she found the recipe for the Puppet. Most of the ingredients were the same the only difference was that the Puppet did not require a spirit, but a body it can equally possess.

"It looks as though my tools will be more useful to me than I thought." She smiled as she prepared a new plan for Florian the Prince of Franca.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

Please let me know what you think, leave me a review! Who would have guessed that we would have gotten this far with the chapters. I wasn't actually expecting on getting to thirty chapters, but I just let the story write itself and so we now have thirty chapters. I don't know for how much longer as in terms of chapters this will go for, but please bear with me and I hope you continue to enjoy reading this. ^_^

Thank you all so much for coming this far with me. I can't even begin to express how much I have missed writing.

Thanks so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

ADAM

As if hiking through the mountains during the day in the burning sun wasn't hard enough Adam found that hiking a mountain in the dead of night with only the moon as your light and the Shadows looming in ever crevice of the Dark Forest was perhaps a deadly feat. The roots grabbed at his ankles, the branches yanked at his hair, and not to mention the winds were blowing the whispers of the Shadows, the overall evening had been a challenge. The only thing keeping him on his goal is because the Dwarves are the only ones in the entire Realm that will be able to shield Snow White from the dangers ahead. He would trudge through the Dark Forest and the Shadows, he would walk through his worst nightmares, he would march through hell and back if it meant getting her safe.

Thankfully the moon provided him the light he needed and the hope he needed to get through the Dark Forest. It was rather ridiculous that there were not lights, no lanterns other than the moon as a source of light. Perhaps he had been in the Anti-Realm for far too long and took such luxuries, though they were just as perilous, for granted. It had been nearly a week since he's returned to the Anti-Realm and it took the lack of light in the day in a Realm filled with light for twelve hours of the day for him to think of it.

He paused in his trudging and suddenly thought of the Older Frederick and wondered how he was doing, how he was coping with his memories changing with all the choices Adam had made, if he was even alive or in existence anymore. . . The wind stopped sending the whispers to him and merely blew about his ankles as he took this moment to stop and think on things. He had really changed since he arrived. He put his hand to his chest and couldn't help but feel a little more human. . .

The wind stopped blowing. The clouds covered the moon. The leaves no longer danced. The branches no longer scratched. The air grew thin and in his moment of pausing did he feel it approach. The Shadows from the trees were swirling and joining together. It was faint be he knew the feeling very well, it was her magic, the Evil Queen's dark magic. It was still young and not as marring and dark, but it was still her magic. Adam turned and watched as the Shadows continued to grow and conform together until they formed a giant black bear. The Shadow Bear stood on its haunches, eyes glowing green and glaring down at him with a lustful hunger in its eyes.

"You must be what she prepared the other day." He looked up into its eyes waiting for it to strike. It growled in response to him. "I hate to disappoint you, but I won't be allowing you to have her."

It bared its large fangs and growled even louder at him. Its muscles rippled as it flexed its body and prepared its stance. Adam merely pulled his gloves from his hands and stuffed them into his pockets.

"If you're going to be what prevents me from keeping her safe I'll gladly take you out." Adam kept his eyes locked with the Shadow Bear. "But just so you know, I've dealt with your kind before."

The beast before him roared loudly into the night before barreling towards Adam. Prepared for it to come to him Adam prepared his poisonous skin to a medium toxicity. The Shadow Bear came towards him, he side stepped it fast enough and grabbed the Shadowy furry mass plunging his poison as deep into the Shadows as possible. The adrenaline kicked in and spike his blood lust, all the anger from this evening began to add fuel to this growing desire of causing mass destruction. Yes, he relished being powerful enough to kill legions of men without having to draw a blade, yes he relished the feeling of being superior he could feel himself slipping almost to the point of laughing he continued to fight with the Shadow bear.

The Bear raised its paw and swiped at Adam's shoulder, just barely missing his head, and knocked him aside. He only skidded to the side and was able to jump up again and readied as the bear lunged at him again baring its teeth and ready to bite his head off.

"Wanting to play dirty, eh?" He chuckled deep within him as the feeling of action tickled the dangerous levels of malice that wanted to surface. "Then let's play dirty!"

An old sense of himself that Adam had avoided ever allowing himself to ever become again peeked its ugly head out and took control as he fought the Shadow Bear. He felt raw, he felt loose, he felt as though he had no care about the repercussions of the world and simply wanted to slaughter the beast in front of him. He almost laughed in excitement. The bear swatted its giant paw at him again and this time Adam caught it and inflicted as much of his poison into as possible.

It writhed in pain and opened its huge jaws and bit into Adam's shoulder. Already in a fit of rage his poison mixed with his own blood as well as entered into the Shadow Bear. The beast clenched its teeth tighter and tried to shake Adam, but he shoved his fingers into its eye and it released him.

It was the stinging of his poison and the needle grazing of the blood seeping wound in his shoulder that made him blink and return to himself. He had lost himself to his raw anger, deep jealousy, and blood lust for a quick moment of power. He felt like weak for allowing himself to stoop so low as to follow his inner angers and passion to lose all sense of reason of himself as well as a fool. Anger blinds on easily to his surroundings as well as himself; and Adam had years of anger built up. It had taken him years to control his anger instead of using it to thrash about wildly and go on murderous rampages.

His hand went to his shoulder to try to stop the bleeding, but it would be no use in this rain, especially since the beast came running at him again. It was ready to tackle him and maul him. Adam refused to allow the Shadows to expose him and make him weak again. Adam pulled put his hand to the hilt of his sword that lay at his waist. It was a sword made up of pure light, it was bestowed to him by the old hag right before they arrived at the Anti-Castle so that he could use it to fulfill her mission and killing Snow White and carving her heart out with it. He had never used it, but it was the only thing that would get rid of the Evil Queen's Shadows.

He removed the sword from its sheath and ran it through the beast's skull. A terrible crack and pop sound happened as it went through the bone, but being possessed by the Shadows it still moved. He yanked his sword from the skull and was thrown off of the bear and was sent rolling down the hill into the swamps. Muck and mud went into his mouth, but he had no real time to acknowledge it as the bear came quickly behind. Adam braced himself, this time aiming for the heart. If this truly was one of the Evil Queen's Shadows then the only way to get rid of it would be to stab it through the heart.

He removed the sword from its sheath and ran it through the beast's skull. A terrible crack and pop sound happened as it went through the bone, but being possessed by the Shadows it still moved. He yanked his sword from the skull and was thrown off of the bear and was sent rolling down the hill into the swamps. Muck and mud went into his mouth, but he had no real time to acknowledge it as the bear came quickly behind. Adam braced himself, this time aiming for the heart. If this truly was one of the Evil Queen's Shadows then the only way to get rid of it would be to stab it through the heart.

Adam sometimes wished he never understood why the Queen always went for the heart of things. The heart pumped the blood through the body, it worked the hardest, and without it no one could live, sure they could exist, but they would not be able to live. She even knew that and although she created strong creatures and beasts she gave them weak hearts for her own control over them. Adam could only count himself so lucky as to have had a strong heart. . .

Adam stood ready for the bear to tackle him, in fact he would have to let the damned beast tackle him if he were to get a good stab at the heart. Trying to catch it at the ribs would be too risky. The weakest spot on the beast's body would be its underbelly and its chest that caged the heart. He couldn't think about the risks, he couldn't think of the possible mauling, no he had to focus on the part that rested just under his chin and fur. The inky black mass of contorting and restless shadows that enveloped the bear all twisted and turned and with tendrils lurched out from its body and reached out for Adam. He easily cut them with his blade, however many shot out at once and caught at his wrists, his ankles, and even neck. He struggled to continue to cut the tendrils as the bear continued to run towards him. For the first time since he left the Evil Queen's Castle in the Anti-Realm he felt himself being strangled and saw the black spotting his vision. The beast tackled him, caught his blade between its teeth and shattered his sword of light into pieces. All that remained was the hilt.

Turning its big ugly head down towards him, it opened its jaws ready to maul Adam's face off when suddenly a burst of light on an arrow shot the bear in the side. Thunder boomed, the rain somehow found a way to pour harder and a bolt of lightning crashed into trees somewhere up the mountain and lighted a small cliff area showing two men standing there. Two little men. Two Dwarves, in fact. It roared up in pain and both Adam and the bear looked and saw two Dwarves, Dopey and Grumpy, standing with crossbows and arrows made of Light. The beast stood on its hind legs and began to change direction, but as soon as it was on its hind legs, Grumpy shot an arrow into its heart and the beast turned into ash immediately.

"You still alive?" Grumpy spat as he peered over his crossbow.

"How did you -?" Adam could only gape up at the Dwarves. How in Apfel did they know he was here? How in Apfel did they have Arrows of Light?

"Get your ass up here." He snapped and did a series of hand motions to Dopey. "It's raining and I'm wet an' tired." He propped his crossbow over his shoulder and waited as Dopey scurried off somewhere. Still holding the broken hilt of his sword he pushed himself up from the ever growing swampy puddles and trudged his way through the muck.

"And grab that crystal too!" Grumpy called and put his hand on his hip in impatience. He pointed to where the beast had turned to ash. Adam looked over his shoulder and sure enough there was a crystal in the oddly shaped heart resting in the muck of the swamp. He bent down, picked it up, and brought it with him as he joined Grumpy on the cliffside.

Grumpy stood with his foot tapping impatiently and an ever growing sour look on his face.

"What in the damn Apfel were you doing down there," He pointed down to the muck hole he had been fighting the bear in. "Fighting the Shadows in the dead of night, huh?"

"It came after me." He answered honestly and coolly before handing over the crystal to the Dwarf. "I was merely defending myself."

"Well, yore stupid ass better be pretty damn grateful that Dopey, for whatever forsaken reason, was out here." He spat on the ground as he continued to glare up at Adam. "Had he not told me you were out here you'd have been devoured by now!"

"And I graciously thank you for taking care of that." Adam tried to remain calm and respectful to the Dwarf who ultimately saved his life.

"Graciously thank me my ass." He spat again and narrowed his eyes up at him. "I don't know why you decided to come out here, but you best leave us out of it!"

"Wha - ?" Adam blinked down at the Dwarf.

"Listen here, Black Prince." He barked and pointed his crossbow up at him. "I don't like you, nor do I trust you. As far as I can tell, all you are is trouble."

"Then what was the point in saving me?" Adam snapped back. "You could have left me there to die!"

"And leave you to be another puppet to the Shadow army, I think not." He scoffed. "Besides, Dopey would never forgive me if I hadn't. . ."

Adam could only stare down at the grumpy Dwarf. Despite his crude manners and even cruder tongue he was far better than he let on. Adam could not blame him for not trusting him and only seeing him as trouble. In all honesty he truly was, but what else followed you when you were a villain, even as a villain recruit, other than trouble?

"Well if you ain't got nothin' else to say then follow me." He snapped and turned on his heel. "It's fucking cold and wet."

It took Adam a moment to realize that Grumpy wanted him to follow him. Not wanting to miss the opportunity Adam followed suit and trudged deeper into the mountain with Dwarf. Grumpy said nothing as they trudged but would look over his shoulder to make sure that Adam was following him. Despite how grumpy and grouchy the old Dwarf was his heart was still good.

Adam was so relieved once they reached the clearing that would take them to the dwelling place of the Dwarves. All the lights were on in the cottage and Adam's body longed for the warmth of a fire and a place that was dry. Once they were close enough to the cottage the doors flung open and six other Dwarves were waiting on them to enter. They had towels ready to dry them off and Grumpy had no shape in undressing and snatching up the towel to change into something dry.

Dopey both worriedly and excitedly held up a towel for Adam and he almost immediately reached out for it when he realized that he didn't have his gloves on. He slipped them on, despite how difficult it was to get half wet gloves on. With his gloves back on his hands, not that they would do much for him now that he was soaked through, he accepted the towel from Dopey and dabbed at his face and hair.

"Thank you." He asked with a gentle nod of his head.

"It's so good to see you again, friend." Doc laughed nervously. "Though, I do wish that the weather conditions were better."

"I'm sure we have some extra clothes for you." Happy offered. "It wouldn't do you any good to get sick from wearing wet clothes."

"Yeah, you'd get the . . . the. . . " Sneezy started to wheeze for a sneeze, but held his finger under his nose to keep from actually sneeze. "The sneezes."

"I'm fine." Adam shook his head and draped the towel around his shoulders. "I in fact can't stay too long."

"What the hell ya mean you can't stay long?" Grumpy snapped and glared daggers at Adam. "I just saved you from a Shadow Bear and you want to go back out there?"

"Shadow Bear?" Doc looked from Grumpy to Adam. "There was a Shadow Bear in these woods?"

"Compliments from the Queen of Apfel." Adam groaned. "She summoned that thing here."

"Dark magic is never good." Doc frowned and shook his head. "Evil is sure to follow after it. Well, at least you're safe here, friend." Doc smiled up at Adam. "Though I must say that your visit is quite the surprise."

"My visit will not be long." Adam insisted. "I am here with a request."

"Of course you are." Grumpy rolled his eyes and climbed up the stairs that would lead to their bedroom.

"A request?" Doc continued and tried to ignore Grumpy.

"Yes." Adam nodded and his mouth suddenly felt dry. "Would you be able to house a friend of mine?"

"You need us to house someone?" Doc raised his eyebrow at him. "I don't know friend, that's quite a lot to ask."

"It's the princess of Apfel." Adam straightened as best as he could, but between the low ceiling and his clothes weighing him down. "The Queen is trying to kill her, and it's not safe for her at the castle."

"And you think she would be safe here?" Doc's brows furrowed.

"Dwarves have always been known for their strong sense of magic and protections." Adam nodded. "This is the only place that I could think of to bring her where she would be safe. Please, it will only be for a few days."

"Are you sure yo're not just bringing her here to kidnap here?" Grumpy gruffed as he came back downstairs in dry clean clothes.

"Grumpy!" Doc and Happy scolded in unison.

"No, don't 'Grumpy' me!" He spat. "We've had false dealin's with royals and others humans alike. I'm not going to allow us to have to get uprooted again just because you've got a faint heart, Doc."

"Grumpy!" Happy frowned and put his hands on his hips.

Grumpy merely rolled his eyes and turned his gaze back to Adam. "Now tell me, princey, how can you prove that you're not just bringin' her here to kidnap her until you set the blame on us?"

Adam looked down into the old Dwarf's eyes. He's been through pain and anguish for far too long in his life to trust a human, Adam couldn't fault him for that. Adam could tell that he must have suffered greatly for him to act this defensively. There's a chance he at one point in time had been too trusting and caused them to be here where they were now in Apfel.

Adam reached his hand into his suitcoat and pulled out a small leather pouch. The tiny weightless thing felt like a ton as he debated on using this as his leverage.

"Will this do?" Adam handed the bag off to Grumpy. He almost snatched it back as soon as he dropped it off.

"What is it?" Grumpy held it and didn't even open it.

"It is a gift for the princess." Adam explained as he didn't take his eyes off the bag. "We were walking around the festival together and she liked that piece. I haven't had a chance to give it to her yet. . ."

"And how much value is this?" Grumpy still did not take it out of the bag.

"The actual price value is little," Adam confessed. "But to me it is something much more valuable because it was something she wanted."

Grumpy scowled and said nothing as he opened the little leather pouch, peered inside of it, then snatched it closed. Adam's heart hammered in his chest and he ever so desperately wanted it back in his possession. It was a gift for Snow White, it wasn't meant to be used as leverage for her to stay here. He greatly wished that he had had something else of more value to give to them so he would not have had to have given up the necklace.

"When are you bringin' her?" Grumpy asked and crossed his arms.

"As soon as I can." Adam felt a small sense of relief wash over him.

"You better not be bringin' her in this rain." He glared up at him.

"Of course not." Adam glared back.

"Then we'll be seeing her tomorrow." The Dwarf tucked the leather pouch into his front breast pocket. "I'll be holding onto this 'til she gets here."

Adam's heart squeezed, but there was little else he could do in order to provide some sort of shelter for Snow White. "Thank you." Adam bowed his head in his gratitude. "You will never know how much this means to me."

"I beg ta differ." Grumpy snorted then turned on his heel to go to the kitchen.

"Well." Doc cleared his throat. "Now that that is all settled. We should all be getting to bed."

"I'm getting' a drink before I go to bed." Grumpy hollered from the kitchen and made evident noises that he was pouring himself a pint.

"Well hurry it up and get your behind into bed." Doc bellowed back. One by one the other Dwarves started climbing the stairs. Doc remained downstairs and looked around the room.

"I'd offer you up my bed, but I don't think that you would fit very well." He offered an awkward chuckle.

"It's fine." Adam shook his head and used the towel to try and soak up more of the rainwater that drenched his clothes. "I will need to be leaving soon anyways. It's a trek through the mountain and back."

"Must you go so soon?"

"He's havin' a drink with me first." Grumpy gruffed as he stood in the doorway holding two tankards. "I'll see him off Doc, you go get some sleep."

"I really must –" Doc tried to argue, but Grumpy cast him a glare.

"Get to bed, Doc." Grumpy said sternly. "If you don't rest up you won't be able to lead us to the tunnels tomorrow."

Doc stood and pursed his lips. Adam could tell that Doc didn't want to leave the two of them alone, but that he was also tired and going to bed was beyond tempting him. With nothing else to say he too turned on his heel and marched upstairs to their room. Adam and Grumpy stood where they were and just watched Doc entered the bedroom and said nothing until he shut the door behind him.

"Get in here." Grumpy called as he reentered the kitchen and dining area. With no other choice, Adam followed Grumpy with squishing footsteps and joined him at the table. "Drink this." Grumpy slid a tankard over to Adam.

"Thanks." By the mere smell of it he knew it was an apple ale. He refused to allow himself to think of the filthy state the house was in and heartily drank the ale. It burned his throat going down and quickly warmed his bold body as he sat.

"You really gonna try and head down the mountain tonight?" Grumpy asked, arms and legs crossed as he looked over his tankard at him.

"I have too." Adam nodded his head. His eyes were heavy in addition to his body and he wanted nothing more than to rest for a few minutes before heading back out again.

"You should wait up 'til this rain stops." Grumpy interjected.

"I have to beat the sun up." He shook his head. "I have to get her out of there before they go out to finish off the festivities."

"Why?"

"The Queen is trying to kill her." Adam snapped as his head began to pound. "The Queen and the no good foolish fiancé are trying to kill her."

"Who?"

"Snow White." Her name made his face swell with heat.

"She's your princess, huh?" Grumpy snorted with a quick smirk before taking a sip from his tankard.

"It's rather complicated. . ." Adam Glowered down at his ale.

"Must be if you're bringing her here to live with a bunch of Dwarves 'til whatever's goin' on blows over." He sloshed his ale around in his tankard. "What are you goin' to do if they come lookin' for her?"

"I made a promise that I would keep her safe." He took another sip from the tankard. "And that is exactly what I plan on doing. . ."

"All right then." Grumpy gave a shrug. "Now what do you plan to do with this necklace?"

"What?"

"You know it's fake, right?"

"I'm aware that it's fake." Adam frowned.

"And you're go into give fake jewelry to a princess?" He raised an eyebrow at Adam.

"She's the one that picked it out." Adam felt his face warm. "She has no idea that I got it for her. . . and I would like to keep it that way until I can actually give it to her."

"Interesting." Grumpy merely nodded his head.

They let the conversation drop as they quietly drank their ale to warm them up. Adam's body shivered from wearing the wet clothes and he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep now that he was in a safer place. But the time was ticking and there would be little chance of beating the sun if he didn't hurry and make his way back.

"You look like a drowned rat." Grumpy snatched Adam's tankard away and shuffled over to the sink. "You should go sit in front of the fire before you head out. You just might catch your death trying to run around through the swamps again."

"I really must go."

"And get lost in this nightmare again?" Grumpy challenged. "Go sit in front of the fire and warm up and at least let your clothes dry before you go."

As much as he hated to admit it the Dwarf was right. Oh how he had wished that Mr. V had taught him a teleporting spell. It would make travelling between the two places so much easier. Grumpy led the way into the living room where a big fire burned and heated the whole house. Adam blinked in shock for not noticing it the first time he entered the house. Grumpy took a rocking chair that had his name on it while Adam sat cross legged in front of the flames. He wanted to take his coat and shirt off to enjoy the full warmth of the fire, however, that would put the Dwarf at too much risk after his little fight with the Shadow Bear.

"If you sleep for a bit I'll wake ya when the rain stops." Grumpy said as thunder boomed overhead.

"I don't have time for sleep. . ." Adam was trying to fight the droopiness of his eyelids.

"Ya keep saying that." Grumpy rolled his eyes. "You won't be any good to anyone if you're sick or if you don't sleep. Just rest a bit. The rain will stop sooner than you think."

As much as Adam wanted to argue and fight with himself to actually get moving, his body had already bunkered down and already started to go into sleep mode. He rested his elbows on his knees and rested his face in his hands.

"Wake me when the rain stops." He closed his eyes within his hands and took a deep breath. His body was battered and sore from his fight on top of being sleep deprived. Despite his best efforts Adam could not help but feel himself droop into sleep.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!_

_Thank you all for coming so far with me. We are making great progress and I think we are at least at the top of the hill on the down stretch now. ^_^ Please hang on tight as we go on a bumpy rode._

_Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

FREDERICK

The night had seemed longer than is should have been with the rain dragging the darkness of the night out longer than it should have. It was sometime early morning when the rain finally stopped. Frederick's worry and concern only grew with each passing moment and lacking of Adam's appearance. He had said that he would be back by morning and with the terrible storm that flooded through the area Frederick prayed that Adam was actually able to keep his word. The roosters had already crooned their morning and song and still there was no sign of Adam anywhere. He could not help but to look down the halls every now and again to see if he had slipped into the castle yet. He even carefully pressed his ear to the door on the off chance he had managed to get in her room with some sort of magic.

Adam still hadn't arrived.

Frederick had stood at his post all throughout the night and was glad that neither Florian nor Grimhilde tried to come in the dead of night to do something. The maids and other servants were already leaving their rooms and bustling about doing their chores. Five o'clock was the earliest an of the staff and servants were up, which meant the rising of dawn was not too far behind. He glanced down the halls again but saw no one and heard nothing.

Adam still hadn't arrived.

Frederick gripped the handle of his halberd tightly and avoided thinking about the dreaded things that could have even remotely happened to him. He had the utmost faith in Adam to keep his word and to actually save the princess. . .But where was he? He pursed his lips and released a sigh. He wanted to hold out for Adam and his coming, but the odds were not looking very likely. Despite not seeing Adam he wanted to hold out, as if he knew he was going to come for her at any second. . . But the seconds passed by, the minutes, and hours and already transpired and there was no sign of him coming to rescue Snow White. He took a deep breath as he glanced at her door. He was going to have to tell her that Adam wasn't coming.

He turned to her door and had his hand at the ready to knock on it, but he saw that his fist was shaking. He withdrew from the door and looked down either hall in one last fatal attempt in telepathically trying to call to Adam, to let him know that he needed to hurry, that he should have been here by now, that the moment was perfect and he needed to show up; but he never showed.

He tried again and this time his knuckles made contact with the wood, ever so softly did he knock. Almost as soon as he knocked did Snow White's pretty little face appear on the other side of the door His heart ached as he saw that she had soft gray bags under her eyes and that she had the most utterly disappointed look that he had ever seen. Her hair had been done up with a pretty red ribbon and she was wearing her dress that she had been working so hard on. The blue velvet of the bodice seemed to make her appear even paler and the yellow skirt gave her a touch of youth while the white collar that lined her neckline made her look very regal. It made him want to cry for her. She still smiled up at him, a forced smile, as she leaned on the door and almost clutched the frame for support. It pushed the door open ever so slightly to show that she had two small bags packed and ready for her early morning departure.

"He's . . . not coming, is her?" Her tired brown eyes threatened to let the building waters within them fall.

"I . . ." His mouth felt dry and he felt terribly guilty. "I don't know. He's not here yet, but I know he's coming -!"

"Thank you, Frederick." She hiccupped quietly as she smiled so sadly up at him. "But I think it is rather obvious that he isn't coming."

"Princess he wouldn't just leave you here." He spoke softly, but sternly to her. "Prince Adam is a man of his word and he would be here if something weren't keeping him."

"I thank you for your kind words and encouragement, Frederick." She stood straighter, but seemed to be like a wilting flower. "But I think I'm tired of hope right now, I'm just very very tired. . ."

"But princess – " He tried to argue, but she closed her eyes and turned her head into the door.

"Please, Frederick." She whispered in such a pained voice. "I have decided to accept my fate already. Don't give me anymore false hope that he will come for me, I don't think my heart can take much more. . ."

He quickly shut his mouth and could only watch as the princess who had been through so much already took yet another emotional beating. She sniffled and wiped her nose with a handkerchief before stepping out of her room and into the hall. She tucked the handkerchief in her pocket and forced another smile on her face.

"Let's go to breakfast, shall we?" She kept her hands placed in front of her and held them tightly together as she walked down the hall. Not having any words of comfort or anything to provide her a peace of mind, Frederick quietly followed her and escorted her to the dining room. Only their footsteps made noise as they walked down the halls to the dining room. She said nothing as she walked and looked a hair gray, as if all the hope that had been taken away from her had taken away her personality and life too.

They entered the dining room and much to Frederick's surprise both Florian and Grimhilde were at the head of the table chatting things up happily discussing the day's plans. They said nothing to Snow White as she took her seat and monotonously began to eat. Frederick could do nothing but watch as the other two continued their conversation without so much as glancing her way. Frederick had quietly hoped that perhaps Adam was here and was greatly disappointed that he was not, and could hardly imagine how disappointed she felt. She ate her bowl of porridge in silence and did not speak unless she was spoken to.

"Yes, I'll be looking forward to it today." Frederick laughed airily before returning to his own breakfast. "Oh, good morning, Snow White." He flashed a terribly obnoxious smile at her. "I didn't know you were there."

"Yes, I didn't even hear you come in." The Queen blinked in honest shock. "Well, don't you look nice." She looked Snow White up and down in her dress. "The dress simply came out marvelously!"

"Thank you, your highness." Snow White forced a smile and spoke weakly. "It took me most of the night to finish."

"That explains why you look so haggard." She tutted and cut into her eggs. "You'll need to freshen up and make sure to grab your cape when we leave."

"Yes, your highness." She nodded her head in response and continued to eat. Frederick wanted nothing more than to scoop the poor girl up and take her back to her room so she could sleep and mourn in quiet. She was so depressed and just kept seeming to lose her light.

"We will be going into town today to finish the festivities with the peasants." She took a sip from her goblet. "I'm sure after last night's rain that it will be quite muddy and very slippery out. But the day has shone such promise for a lovely day that I refuse to not have the annual picnic."

"Is that such a good idea, My Queen?" Frederick spoke up and cleared his throat. Those dazzling green eyes finally looked his way.

"Are you questioning me, Knight?" She raised a thin eyebrow at him. As much as he wanted to challenge her and defy her to try to speak some sort of sense into her, he knew that would do no good for both he and Snow White.

"Not questioning, My Queen." He stood at attention as he looked down at her. "Merely wondering if it is truly safe to go out today. Although there is a small window of sunshine today I do believe that it will rain again later this afternoon and I would hate to see you get drenched – "

"You can predict the weather?" She smirked at his challenge and stared at him over her goblet. "Surely you jest."

"Merely trying to look out for you, My Queen." He held her gaze steady. "I would surely hate to see anything bad happen to you on our endeavors today."

"Indeed." She scoffed for a mere moment before drinking her goblet and pushing her plate aside. "Well, that is why it is your duty to ensure that nothing happens to me, Sir Knight; to all of us, in fact." She gestured to her right where Florian sat and blatantly excluded Snow White who sat on her left. Oh how he wished Adam would just hurry up and come and get her!

"Yes, it is my duty, My Queen." He held her gaze and could see the faintest shade of pink rising to her cheeks. "I will protect you and keep you safe until my dying breath."

"Well now, aren't we being a little dramatic." Prince Florian snorted as he looked to Frederick. "You make it sound as though it is a love confession."

"It is an outward action of showing loyalty to my country and My Queen, Prince Florian." He cut his eyes at the prince of Franca. "It is something you should probably show a little bit more to your fiancée and your country."

"How dare you – " Prince Florian slammed his hands on the table and stood ready, like a rabid dog ready for a fight. The fool had proven to be a man o his word and have a nasty bite as his bark but Frederick knew that he could take him, kill him even if it truly came down to that.

"Now that we've all had our fun." The Queen spoke up and slowly stood herself. "I shall be getting my cloak and I expect the rest of you to get ready for the picnic as well."

Prince Florian looked both livid and taken aback that she had spoken over him and sat back down in his seat like an angry child. With nothing left to be said the Queen waltzed out of the room with Florian in toe behind her. Snow White, on the other hand, carefully took her time to finish picking at her breakfast before slowly standing and wordlessly walking back down the halls to her room. Though she wore bold and bright colors, as she walked to her room the colors seemed to become more muted and more monochrome. She quietly slipped into her room without bothering to close it behind her and pulled on a faded lavender almost gray cloak and draped it over herself.

When she exited the room Frederick stood in front of her and made her stop.

"Princess." She dazedly looked up at him and he saw that the abundant life in her eyes had dulled to such emptiness. "He is coming."

She tried to smile but it looked more like a wince and her tiny hand went to her chest and rested over it.

"Please, Frederick." She spoke ever so softly. "I need not think any more of him today. . . Besides I'm engaged to the Prince of Franca. I'll soon be married and won't be allowed to think of him ever again. . ."

Frederick carefully and gently used his index fingers to prod Snow White to actually look up at him in the eyes. The faintest life reflected back but burrowed back down into whatever hole it was hiding in.

"I'm just as confused as you, Princess." He spoke gently to her, almost fatherly. "But I promise that I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise that I will keep you safe until your real prince come to save you."

"Thank you, Frederick." A faint flicker of a real smile formed on her face. "I truly do believe that you will keep me safe, but I don't know if I really should let you. I've already resigned to my fate."

"And I refuse to allow you to make the biggest mistake of your life." He said firmly. "You deserve so much better in life than what you've gotten. I'm so sorry that I haven't done much more until now. . ." His guilty gnawed on his stomach. "But I will protect you and keep you safe and will keep you from making the biggest mistake of your life."

She only smiled up at him in response and he watched as the light hid away one more time. Without another word she turned on her heel and started walking outside to the carriages. She very mechanically joined the others in the carriage and sat in silence the whole way there. While riding on the back of the carriage he never heard her even mumble a syllable as they rode into town.

Frederick had never seen such a sad or more depressive thing before; not even when Grimhilde's mother died did he see someone so sad as he saw Snow White. While both Queen Grimhilde and Prince Florian flocked about and enjoyed all the festivities, Snow White walked around as though she were in a limbo seeing things but not properly looking at them. Nothing caught her eye, nothing made her stop and stare, she just wandered about as if she were ready for something terrible to happen.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!_

_Please feel free to leave me reviews or message me with questions, suggestions, or even requests for future stories or characters that you would like to read about from the Recruits. I do have a few things planned out, but I must must must finish my current stories before I will publish any of my new works._

_Sorry for the short chapter, but I have a few things going on, please bear with me as I do promise to continue to write, but I may be slow to update do to some things, very big things for me, coming up in life. ^_^_

_Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-three

SNOW WHITE

The night just seemed to grow longer and longer with the rain all night long. It was sometime early morning when the rain finally stopped and Snow White had been awake for the moment's notice of Adam coming to get her. The hours ticked by, the minutes ticked by, the seconds even ticked by. There were several times that she had dozed in waiting for him so she busied herself with her dress all throughout the night, adding details and making sure that it was finished for the day. Even when she had finished that she had gone around her room and tried to organize things and even pack a few small things like clothes and her books that she would need for wherever Adam would be taking her. She merely assumed that he was going to take her to his little house in the village, however as the night dragged on and Adam still had not come she realized that he was truly taking her away from the castle and possibly Apfel itself.

This made her both anxious and excited. She had never truly dreamed of what life outside of the castle would be like. She just always prayed and hoped that things with her step mother would get better and she could have a family again; though that had proven itself just a terrible false hope that she should never look at again. Since Prince Florian had arrived in Apfel and had proposed, she had toyed with the idea of what Franca would be like, but if Prince Florian was to be a representative of his country she had not counted on her enjoying it very much. She could not help but wonder if Adam was going to take her back to the place that he was from. He talked little about his past, and given the recent circumstances in the library and the possibility of his taking her to some place dreadful had crossed her mind. She shook her head at the thought, pushed herself from her bed, and paced the floor.

She didn't like thinking of Adam in a bad light, or as a bad guy; however she could not ignore what she had heard in the library. He was supposed to kill her, he was working with the Queen to kill her; yet he hadn't. He had been nothing but gentle and kind with her that she could not actually think of him actually killing her; but the thoughts of the two men that had forever tainted her and left her damaged crossed her mind as their existence in this Realm seemed to no longer exist. She chewed on the inside of her lips and stopped her pacing. She just couldn't make much rhyme or reason to any of his methods in handling her. She could not fathom why he would be so kind and so gentle with her if he was to kill her. Perhaps it was some sort of method of luring her into a false sense of security; that thought almost hurt her worst. She hated thinking that he was merely pretending to like her, that he was doing it all out of some sort of morbid responsibility of getting rid of her.

She stopped pacing and looked at the wall on the left side of the room. Adam had only stayed in that room just recently, he would have had every chance and opportunity to have killed her but he still hadn't. Her hand went to her chest and she tried to still her heart as she sincerely hoped that his feelings and actions towards her had truly been sincere and not an act. Her mind slipped back to all of the individual times during lessons, and escorting her through town and the castle, as well as at his house in the village – he could have killed her at any of those moments in time, but he never did. She could not recall him raising his hand against her, threatened her, or even came off in a malicious way at all. No, he had only ever shown her kindness, had taught her how to read and write, and had helped to give her a new independence. Despite what she heard in the library she would never believe that he would truly kill her. Why else would he be trying to save her?

A smile of hope returned to her face and she tried to remind herself that he would not have left her here; but some part of her deep within her whispered dark negative secrets that tried to smash out her hope. She was so lost in trying to remain hopeful that she had not heard when the rain finally stopped pouring. Then the knock came at the door. She practically flung herself at the door she moved so quickly to open it. Though much to her surprise it was Frederick. That was okay because he normally escorted her anyways, perhaps he was going to escort her to Adam! She dared to continue that hope, but the crestfallen look behind the smile Frederick tried to give her dashed any remaining hope. She could not let him know how disappointed she was, how all her hopes were diminished, no she much smile. She forced smile as she leaned on the door and almost clutched the frame for support; it would perhaps be the only thing that would not let her down now. She studied Frederick's green eyes, and the poor loyal knight was struggling to find any words to give to her.

"He's . . . not coming, is he?" Her tired eyes burned with exhaustion and longing for sleep and threatened to let the building waters within them fall.

"I . . ." He opened his mouth to speak but hesitated. "I don't know. He's not here yet, but I know he's coming - !"

Oh how she wish he would not lie to her. A cold bitter truth was better than a beautiful lie.

"Thank you, Frederick." She tried to swallow a hiccup with a smile. "But I think it is rather obvious that he isn't coming."

He nails dug into the grains of the door and she was glad that the few splinters that dug into her skin provided her with some truth that this was reality. That this wasn't a fairytale, that the prince would not be coming to save the princess. That this was a cruel reality where she was engaged to a prince who would more than likely kill her the moment he could just to get her out of the Queen's hair.

"Princess he wouldn't just leave you here." He spoke softly, but sternly to her. "Prince Adam is a man of his word and he would be here if something weren't keeping him."

"I thank you for your kind words and encouragement, Frederick." She stood straighter, but felt so tired. "But I think I'm tired of hope right now, I'm just very very tired. . ."

"But princess – " He tried to argue, but she closed her eyes and turned her head into the door.

"Please, Frederick." She whispered in such a pained voice as her heart ached. "I have decided to accept my fate already. Don't give me anymore false hope that he will come for me, I don't think my heart can take much more. . ."

She much to her demise sniffled and wiped her nose with the only handkerchief she had, Adam's handkerchief at that, before stepping out of her room and into the hall. If she were to remain in her room she could live in the false impression that she could still be saved. Although the morning was still early and there were perhaps a few minutes to spare, somewhere deep within her heart begged to leave the fleeting dream. She tucked the handkerchief in her pocket and forced another smile on her face. Oh how quickly she was growing of smiling.

"Let's go to breakfast, shall we?" She gripped her hands placed in front of her tightly together as she walked down the hall not even waiting for Frederick to respond.

She silently wished that there was something else to speak of, just to distract her mind, though she also greatly appreciated the silence. Only their footsteps made noise as they walked down the halls to the dining room. In the silence she could not help but reflect on things. She wondered if perhaps her actions had done something to push Adam away. She wondered if something had happened to him, or if he truly ran away. As she walked the halls she could not help but think of all the actual happy moments she had spent with Adam here. Cleaning together, folding laundry together, having lessons together – too many things in the short month that he had been here reminded her of him. She tried to surpress the memories because thinking of them made it feel as though a hand were around her heart, gripping it tightly threatening to pop it. No, she would put all thoughts of him away.

But did she really want to?

As they reached the dining hall, the silence was broken by the mocking laughter of the Queen and Prince Florian. She secretly did not want to enter the dining hall and even debated on trying to run away on her own, though she knew she would be caught instantly, she wanted some way of escaping. She remained as quiet as possible as she entered the dining hall and took her seat at the left of the Queen. A lukewarm bowl of porridge awaited her as she took her seat and she nibbled at it as best she could. It was delicious in flavor, though it could have stood to have been a little warmer.

Still left to herself Snow White's eyes glanced at the queen, mentally pleading with her to cancel the engagement. She could not help but wonder what actually went through her pretty head. She was so beautiful on top of being intelligent, she just did not understand why thing were happening the way they were. All she wanted to do was to fix things between them, and despite everything she tried, she just could not fix things between them.

Florian's laugh woke her from her daze and she hoped she hadn't stared too long. "Oh, good morning, Snow White. I didn't know you were there."

"Yes, I didn't even hear you come in." The Queen blinked shock. "Well, don't you look nice." She looked Snow White up and down and Snow White wanted to crawl in a hole and disappear. She did not want their carnivorous eyes on her. "The dress simply came out marvelously!"

"Thank you, your highness." Snow White forced a smile and tried to find her voice. "It took me most of the night to finish."

Which was a bold understatement, it in face took her the entire night and early morning to finish, but she would not let the Queen know that. If she should per chance be holding Adam in a containment cell or worse, have found out about his failed attempt at getting her to run away from Apfel Snow White did not want to endure her wrath this early in the day by hinting about anything that would give her away.

"That explains why you look so haggard." She tutted and cut into her eggs. "You'll need to freshen up and make sure to grab your cape when we leave."

"Yes, your highness." She only nodded and continued to eat. Had talking with them always been so exhausting before?

"We will be going into town today to finish the festivities with the peasants." The Queen took a sip from her goblet. "I'm sure after last night's rain that it will be quite muddy and very slippery out. But the day has shone such promise for a lovely day that I refuse to not have the annual picnic."

"Is that such a good idea, My Queen?" Frederick spoke from behind Snow White. It almost made her jump, she was so tired that loud voices were startling her.

"Are you questioning me, Knight?" She raised a thin eyebrow at him.

"Not questioning, My Queen." He stood at attention as he looked down at her. "Merely wondering if it is truly safe to go out today. Although there is a small window of sunshine today I do believe that it will rain again later this afternoon and I would hate to see you get drenched – "

"You can predict the weather?" She smirked at his challenge and stared at him over her goblet. "Surely you jest."

Snow White blinked in surprise that both Frederick and the Queen had towards one another. They were always gracious and respectable to one another, yet here at breakfast there was hostility and tension. Snow White felt so much of it because she was in the center of it. She swallowed her spoonful of porridge hard and quickly sipped on her water.

"Merely trying to look out for you, My Queen." He held her gaze steady. "I would surely hate to see anything bad happen to you on our endeavors today."

"Indeed." She scoffed for a mere moment before drinking her goblet and pushing her plate aside. "Well, that is why it is your duty to ensure that nothing happens to me, Sir Knight; to all of us, in fact."

"Yes, it is my duty, My Queen." Snow White noticed that his tone suddenly changed. Had he always spoken to her like this? There felt as though there was something hidden in his words. "I will protect you and keep you safe until my dying breath."

"Well now, aren't we being a little dramatic." Prince Florian snorted. "You make it sound as though it is a love confession."

"It is an outward action of showing loyalty to my country and My Queen, Prince Florian." The air suddenly went cold and Snow White felt chills all around. "It is something you should probably show a little bit more to your fiancée and your country."

"How dare you – " Prince Florian slammed his hands on the table and made Snow White jump back from the table to the point she thought she would have flipped the chair over. Watching Prince Florian interact with Frederick now, Snow White very quickly did not want to marry him. He had shown himself to be very aggressive over the last few days and it was a quality that she could not see herself living very happily with. She could not help it when her eyes glanced to the door, wishing in the tiniest voice that Adam would come through those doors. He didn't even have to come and save her, she just wanted to see him. . .

"Now that we've all had our fun." The Queen spoke up and slowly stood herself. "I shall be getting my cloak and I expect the rest of you to get ready for the picnic as well."

Snow White had hardly touched her food, but she was far from hungry and just wanted to sleep. She both anticipated and dreaded going back to her room, her small safe haven. She anticipated returning to her room for a quick moment's reprieve before having to spend the rest of the day with the Queen and Prince Florian, but she dreaded it because her bags were still packed and as much as she fought the urges of not thinking on it she would inevitably think of Adam and the fact that he had not come to get her. As she walked past the spare room that Adam had stayed in she quietly hoped that he was nearby. She almost dared a peek to see if he were there, but she knew better; her heart couldn't take another disappointment.

The door seemed to be looming on its hinges as she approached, as if to mock her and her dreams for a happy ending. She quietly gulped as she reentered the room. Nothing had changed. The bed was still made and unslept in, her nooks and crannies were tidied and clean, her small vanity still had her few possessions there, and her wardrobe had remained undisturbed.

"Really, Snow." She scoffed at herself as she went to her wardrobe and pulled the cape from its hanger. "You really shouldn't be acting this way." She slipped her cape on over her shoulders and felt the smooth velvet brush against her skin.

"Adam doesn't owe you anything. . . He doesn't even owe you the matter of keeping his promises." She walked over to the mirror and tried to freshen up a bit. "You are engaged. . . You shouldn't be thinking of. . . him. Setting your heart on . . . him." Her mouth went dry every time she tried to say his name. The name she loved to say, the name she loved to write, the name who she wished she would call upon and speak to for the rest of her life.

Adam.

A lump formed in her throat and she quickly left the room. She would not give her heart the chance to dream again until she could finally sleep. She quickly and quietly shut the door, and upon exiting Frederick looked determined about something.

"Princess." She looked up at him and knew that she did not want to listen to him. "He is coming."

She tried to smile but it hurt too much. She had had to smile too much already this morning and the day had yet to begin. Her hand went to her chest to try to quiet its own crying it was doing.

"Please, Frederick." She spoke ever so softly to remind herself. "I need not think any more of him today. . . Besides I'm engaged to the Prince of Franca. I'll soon be married and won't be allowed to think of him ever again. . ."

Frederick carefully and gently rested his hand on her shoulder and Snow White looked up at him. His deep green eyes were searching for something, some kind of answer that she could not presently give him.

"I'm just as confused as you, Princess." He spoke gently to her. "But I promise that I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise that I will keep you safe until your real prince come to save you."

"Thank you, Frederick." A faint flicker of a real smile formed on her face. He was too kind to her. She was ever so grateful for his years of kindness that he could provide her after her father passed. "I truly do believe that you will keep me safe, but I don't know if I really should let you. I've already resigned to my fate."

"And I refuse to allow you to make the biggest mistake of your life." He said firmly. "You deserve so much better in life than what you've gotten. I'm so sorry that I haven't done much more until now. . ." His guilty gnawed on his stomach. "But I will protect you and keep you safe and will keep you from making the biggest mistake of your life."

He truly did sound like a father as he spoke to her. She could only smile up at him in response because she had no words to provide him the comfort that she could believe him. He had always done his best to keep her out of harm's way, but she was very aware of the long lasting friendship he shared with the Queen, and after yesterday's events she was not entirely sure if she could trust anyone, especially those she loved.

Still, she kept up a smile so that she could pretend like everything was fine. She walked around Frederick and continued to go to the carriages where both the Queen and Prince Florian were already seated inside talking again.

"Oh just wait until we get to the mountains." The Queen purred. "There are so many flowers and deep valleys, it's a picture that you've never seen before."

"I'll be looking forward to it." Prince Florian spoke in a charming manner. "I'm sure that my mother would love to receive flowers from Apfel."

"I only hope that they last for your journey." The Queen sighed exaggeratedly. "Pretty flowers are always so fragile."

"And it's always the prettiest ones that die first." Prince Florian nodded his head in agreement. "But I shall do my best to keep them in a pristine condition."

Snow White thought that the conversation was rather odd. The Queen had never before shown a great interest in flowers, and yet this week she can't seem to stop talking about them. She said nothing to them as she pulled herself into the carriage and settled herself into her seat, and they in turn did not seem to acknowledge her existence. Snow White found herself enjoying that momentary peace of being unseen and unheard of for the first time since she has ever had to endure this sort of treatment. It started as soon as her father died, and though she should have grown used to that sort of treatment it had always been difficult for her to deal with. It was only now that she was nearly nineteen that she was able to secretly appreciated being able to go unnoticed for so long, she only wished she had realized this secret freedom sooner.

The Queen and Prince Florian talked about frivolous things that Snow White did not have the energy to keep up with nor listen to. She turned her gaze to the passing scenery of the castle to fields of green and country side to the yellowing brown roads that led to the village. She enjoyed the scenery most days, but found that it was oddly blank and rather peaceful; if only she could go for a quick walk through those fields instead of riding in the carriage listening to and being discussed in conversation by the other two representatives. There were random subjects of hunting trips, the type of game that they enjoyed to eat that slowly diverged into travel plans back to Franca. There was also the mention of where the wedding was to be held, either here in Apfel or there in Franca. This small bit of conversation caught Snow White's attention and made her turn her head form the window to look between the two of them.

"Care to tell us what you think would be better, my dear?" Prince Florian crooned and Snow White pretended to yawn to hide the disgusted look that dared to show on her face.

"E-Either is fine with me." She threw on a quick smile. "I'm sure that either place would be perfect for a wedding."

"We could always do both." The Queen suggested as the idea suddenly struck her.

"Won't that be expensive?"

They continued on about the venues, the menus, the seating, the dresses, the guests and just became background noise as Snow White got lost in her own head. As much as she tried not to, her thoughts just kept wandering over to Adam. Just where was he?

They continued on about the venues, the menus, the seating, the dresses, the guests and just became background noise as Snow White got lost in her own head. As much as she tried not to, her thoughts just kept wandering over to Adam. Just where was he? She quietly twisted her fingers and chewed on her lower lip to keep from crying. Crying would do nothing for her as of this point. It seriously was just better to go on ahead to resign to her fate accept that she was going to marry Prince Florian.

The ride into the village was rather quick for Snow White and she was all too ready to jump out when the carriage stopped. The fresh air felt great and put fresh air into her lungs. She hadn't realized she had been holding her breath until she was outside of the carriage. Villagers were walking all about looking at the different stalls, making purchases, eating the delights and delicacies that were only ever offered at this time of year, and most of all they were all talking as though they were so happy. Snow White was so happy that there were happier people in the world that herself. She suddenly felt so guilty for being so selfish. She was really only thinking about herself, she hadn't even thought of how her wedding with Prince Florian would affect the villagers. It would be such a benefit to the people, trade would improve, and more job possibilities would open up for her people. For far too long so many of the villagers have been restricted to the jobs and responsibilities of their fathers and mothers with little to no change in the work industry. She wanted to help Apfel, she wanted to make changes for the better. . . If marrying Prince Florian was the way to do it, then so be it; though she still could not fight the internal fear and distrust she felt for him. She would only marry him for her country, not because she truly wanted to.

Not wanting to think of her current issues, Snow White just began to walk, she didn't care where, she just needed to move. She didn't want to feel stagnant or stay in one place for too long. When she was still for too long her brain would start to talk with her, scream at her, trying to convince her of everything but her actual responsibilities as a princess. Her eyes barely glanced at the villagers as she walked, they were just blurs of loud noise that drowned her out from the scene and allowed her to be momentarily invisible. Well, as invisible as Frederick would allow. She hadn't acknowledged him, but she knew he was following her. She was just able to sense him, his presence was very strong and very protective. She appreciated it more than she let on, especially since she felt as though something were going to jump out and get her. She hoped it would be Adam to take her away from this scene, but it was too ominous, too hateful to be Adam. She pinched the inside of her elbow to scold herself for being selfish again.

They walked around in a giant loop before returning to the carriage where they met back with the Queen and Prince Florian who were emptying their pockets of gold buying overly extravagant things that they did not need but wanted to show off their wealth. They seemed so comfortable together, as if they were friends or companions who knew each other well. It was odd, the Queen had never shown interest in Frederick and she could not help but not like the friendship the two seemed to share. Though they smiled and seemed friendly enough, she could not get rid of the ominous feeling that seemed to be wrapped around them. It made her debate on slipping out unnoticed and wonder how far she could go before they would bring her back. If they continued to allow her to be as invisible as she was she could probably get very far, just, where would she go?

As she watched them interact she could not help but feel jealous at the relationship they seemed to share. She had tried very desperately, perhaps too much, to be kind to them both and have a very good relationship with them. She thought that she did, but the conversation from the library still rolled around in her head and ached her heart as she knew things would never get better with the Queen. With Prince Florian she had only ever been kind and polite to him and he found every chance he could to belittle her and be mean to her. She could only hope that things would change after their marriage, who knows, maybe she could learn to love him. Somewhere deep inside her a small voice told her to stop fooling herself, she knew who she loved and there would never be one like him ever again. Her eyes burned as tears wanted to fall again. It was only after they passed the Queen that Snow White finally stopped and looked up at Frederick. She looked into those deep green eyes, hoping that she could get some sort of answer from him, that he would maybe tell her what really happened to Adam. . .

"Is something wrong, princess?" He asked staying by her side.

"Why do they hate me so?" Her brow furrowed as she glanced at the Queen and fiancé. This was not what she wanted to ask him, but it was more than likely for the best since she would just end up torturing herself if she truly asked where he really was. "I don't know what I've done to them to make them hate me so terribly much. I've tried and I've tried to make up for it, but I don't know what I've done."

"You've done nothing." Frederick took a step closer to her, shielding her from their view. "You've done nothing wrong!"

"Yet why do I feel so guilty?" She sniffled as the tears just became to hot for her eyes. She twisted her fingers together in an odd way of trying to force herself to stop. "I just want to apologize and make nice but it seems that all of my efforts are for naught."

"I wish I had an answer for you, princess." Frederick heaved a heavy sigh and gently placed his hand on her head. "I truly and sincerely do. I've been fighting for your honor, not as long as I should have, and I still haven't figured it out entirely. . ."

"Is there any chance for me to be forgiven?" She asked as the dam of tears threatened to burst, she really didn't want to cry anymore. She already felt so pitiful, crying would do nothing to help her situation.

"You've provided them both with far too many chances already." Frederick smiled down at her. "You've done nothing that's ever needed to be forgiven of you. . . " He paused for a second and looked so sad. "But I do wish you'd forgive me, princess."

"Why?" She blinked in surprise.

"For I have not protected you as I should have, and though I can only do so much and I am doing this on the promise that I made with prince Adam." He spoke slowly. "I should have done more than what I have and I know that I can never make up for it."

"You were merely doing as you were told, Frederick." She smile kindly up at him. "I do not hold it against you because I know how the Queen is. But I thank you and if it will make peace with you and allow you to feel more at ease, I accept your apology and forgive you."

"Thank you, princess. . ." He stood there smiling, but not looking relieved. If anything he looked even sadder as if he almost wished that she wouldn't have forgiven him. She hoped that her smile would be enough to take away those sad feelings. But alas, her kind smile soon fell and a forced smile replaced it as Prince Florian came over.

"There you are, sweetheart." Prince Florian gushed as he took both of her hands into his and kissed her knuckles. She froze instantly, his touch was unwelcome and left her skin itching, burning. She wanted to run away, but she was so terrified she was frozen to the spot

"Were you looking for her, Prince Florian?" Frederick stepped beside her and Prince Florian drop her hands. There was an odd look that flashed through his eyes and Snow White only grew more worried.

"Of course I was." He threw on a quick smile and there was something in the tone of his voice that Snow White didn't like. It was almost ominous, like he wasn't looking for her for a good reason.

"Interesting." He looked down at Florian. "It looked as though you were having a great time with the Queen."

"She is great company." Florian gritted his teeth, and no matter how much Snow White tried to convince herself that she could someday love him she knew that with his anger it would take a very long time before that could happen.

"Of course she is, she's the Queen." Frederick took a half step forward and was able to wedge himself between he and Snow White. She was very grateful that he was acting as her shield. She just wanted to be invisible again.

"Of course she it." Florian nodded and took a half step back.

"Did you need something?" Snow White asked finding her voice again and resolving her courage to not back down. She hoped she had control over her voice.

"Yes, it's time for us to be getting gone." He smile at her. TI was pretty enough, but it was dark, as if he was ready to pounce on her. . .

"Get going?" Frederick asked. "Go where?"

"The picnic." Snow White answered with a sigh. Yes, it was time to go on the picnic. . . "We're going up the mountain for the picnic."

"That's right." Frederick winced. "I momentarily forgot."

"How very odd for a knight who's supposed to be protecting royals." Florian smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. "Lacking a bit in sleep?"

"It is nothing to be concerned about, Prince Florian." Frederick deadpanned and held Florian's gaze.

"If you say so." He sneered with a shrug and turned his leering gaze over to Snow White. "Are you ready to go into the carriage, my darling?"

She hated the pet names he so recently decided to call her. They were nice enough, but there was almost something malicious and condescending in them in the way that he spoke to her. She was very aware that he did not like her, she would find a way to get around that obstacle as the time came, but it was as if there was a great shadow looming over him ready to devour them both. He hand instantly went to the sleeve of the knight before her. She did not like to hide, she would rather run; yes it still meant she was a coward but she knew there were things she could not face on her own. She was physically weak and she had to make up for it by doing extra chores; she was not as smart as she was supposed to be and she had to make up for it in her lessons to learn as much as possible to seem capable in a very cruel world; she was not the tallest nor the prettiest so she knew that she had to make up for it in being able to hide and run fast.

"Um." Frederick paused. "I'll bring the princess over in a bit. There was something in one of the stalls that caught her eye and we'd like to get another look at it before we leave."

"As you wish." Florian walked off seeming more off put than before.

Snow White finally felt relief as Florian walked off. She was trembling and the tears were threatening to fall again. Frederick stood there, allowing her to hold onto him for support as she resolved herself. She needed to be better, she needed to get stronger. She did not need to cry every time something frightened her or bothered her. Once someone knows how to anger or scare another, they will possess the deepest control over them and will use it to their advantage every time. She could not allow a dangerous man like Prince Florian to possess that deep control and power over her. Oh how she wished Adam were here. . .

Suddenly, something small bumped into Frederick rather hardly and caused him to shift and catch Snow White's attention. They looked down to see a short bald man child in a green shirt. He saw that it was a Dwarf. The Dwarf had fallen back on his back and looked up at Frederick, chest pumping and looking as though he were ready to burst into tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Frederick bent down and held out a hand for him. The Dwarf just stared back up at him. Snow White peered around Frederick and saw the Dwarf and instantly kneeled beside him. Frederick kept a careful eye on Snow White and saw another Dwarf in a red shirt and a brown hat running over, panting heavily.

"Are you hurt?" she cooed softly as she picked up his purple hat and handed it off to him. His pale face blushed twenty shades of red as his fellow Dwarf walked up beside him. The poor fellow, he must have been terribly embarrassed!

"Now what have you don', Dopey?" The grumpy sounding Dwarf barked as he did a series of hand motions. "You just ran into these folks!"

The Dwarf named Dopey did a series of hand motions in a quick manner and looked back at Snow White.

"Princess?" The Dwarf looked at her then slipped his hat off his head to reveal a shiny bald noggin.

"I'm Snow White." She offered a sweet smile to them. "Dopey here bumped into my knight Frederick, and I was just checking that he was all right."

"He'll be fine, your Grace." He bowed his head respectfully while keeping eye contact with her. "He ran off from our brothers, and I was just coming to get him back."

"What a good brother you are." She cooed with an even brighter smile. "I'm sorry if we interfered."

"Of course now." He shook his head and blushed a hair. "If anythin' you helped me catch him faster."

"Then I'm so glad that we were able to help." She pushed herself to a stand and helped Dopey too. "It was nice to meet you . . ."

"Grumpy, your Grace." He coughed and his face burned a shade red. "Grumpy is my name."

"You don't look very grumpy to me." She tilted her head to the side and was very curious about the name.

"I'm just naturally that way, your Grace." He blushed even deeper and smiled embarrassedly and even patted his balding head.

"Well, it was very nice to meet you, Grumpy and Dopey." She did a mini curtsey to them both. "I'm afraid I have to leave now, I have to go on a picnic with the Queen and the Prince of Franca."

"The pleasure was ours, your Grace." He bowed deeply and kept a hand on Dopey.

She gave them one more smile before she turned and began her dreaded walk to the carriage. She wished she would have had more time to talk with the Dwarves, they seemed like nice fellows, it would have been really nice to get to know them more.

"I wonder what they were doing here. . ." She thought aloud. "It is so very rare to see one Dwarf, let alone two."

"They're miners, princess." Frederick answered. "Every other years or so they come into town and down business with the locals and traders during the festival to share their jewels they've mined up."

"I do wish I could see their wares." She hummed. That would explain why every year the festival gets bigger and more requests from merchants and other countries broaden. Perhaps that could be a good business prospect. . . "I'm sure they're ever so pretty."

"They almost always are, princess." Frederick nodded in agreement.

"You've seen them?" She was very surprised. Frederick did not strike her as a man of fine jewelry.

"Once before." He nodded. "I purposely got a ring from them once. . . it was a beautiful thing."

"Whatever for?" She stopped and looked up at him so curiously.

"I was going to propose to this girl I fell in love with." He stopped and would not look at her.

"And you didn't?" She pressed softly and curiously.

"Before I could, some king snatched her up and drug her through hell and back." He shook his head and his hand slowly balled up into a fist.

"Oh." She blinked and frowned. Frederick deserved a happy life, he was far too good for his position that he carried. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"I'm sorry to have told you." He laughed dryly and suddenly he seemed to age by twenty years. He'd always looked very young, but this conversation seemed to have aged him terribly. "It's not a very happy romantic tale."

"Is she still alive?" She raised a small eyebrow at him.

"Parts of her are." He answered solemnly and she watched his eyes scan the crowds, searching for the girl he spoke of. "But many parts of her just died or have gone into hiding ever since. . . I hoped I could have waken her up by now, but maybe I was too late."

"Do you still love her?" Snow White drew her cape closer to her as a chill grew in the air.

"Yes." Frederick nodded as his eyes landed on the Queen. "I love her more than anything in the world."

"Does she know?" She pressed carefully.

"I don't know. . ." He admitted with a sigh. "I've told her a thousand times, but she just won't listen. She's blinded by her past and so many scars. . . As much as I'd like it to be, I just don't think we're simply meant to be together."

Snow White stood quietly beside him, her own gaze looking in the same direction as Frederick's. The Queen. She should have known, assumed she knew but disregarded it. Of course it was the Queen. The two of them have practically always been together, even when she was a little girl she stuck to his side even when her father was alive. She didn't think that her father minded it much, though. Once you find someone or something you truly love, it's hard to let it go; even if they don't realize their own feelings. Snow White couldn't help but relate to them both somehow. How she wished she would have properly conveyed her feelings to Adam, perhaps it would have encouraged him to stay; or perhaps it would have encouraged him to leave too.

"Some things that are lost are rarely found. . ." Snow White said slowly as she realized just how similar she and Adam were to Frederick and the Queen. "Especially if they've been gone for a long time."

"Yes, this is true." His eyes never left the Queen's vision.

"They're rarely found." She repeated and held his sleeve. She wanted to give him hope, somehow, to convey what she saw as a child as proof that there still was hope for him. "But they're still found. Sometimes you just have to dig deep into the darkest parts to find it."

"Thank you, princess." Frederick smiled down at her, but he wasn't really looking at her. He seemed far away as if he wanted to believe her words but did not want to be shattered by the disappointment should they fail. She remained quiet and allowed him to sort out his feelings, his thoughts, and whatever conflictions that were inside of him. He and the Queen have been together for such a long time, and he has waited all this time. . . Just by looking at him she knew that Frederick would always be waiting for his Queen to look at him the same way he looks at her.

"Let's get on with it then, shall we?" He sniffled quickly and hid his emotions behind a quick smiling mask. "we can't delay it for too much longer without them getting suspicious."

She said nothing but gave his arm one last squeeze before dimly walking to the carriage. Once again the Queen and Prince Florian were already in the carriage talking about things and the rest of the day's events. They paid her no attention as she took her seat at the window and watched the village roll out of sight and climbed the steep hills of the mountains.

Random discussions about weddings came up in conversation, which Snow White assumed was a way to draw her into the conversation but she did want to entertain their ideas for the moment. She wanted the last few quiet moments of her trip to herself as the beautiful mountain side scenery passed by. She saw more birds, squirrels, deer, rabbits, and other wild animals along the way than she ever saw at the castle. They would pause from their natural activities and watch the carriage climb the mountain. It was as though life itself were passing them by as they rode on up the mountain. It was as if a different life called after her, wanted her to join them somehow. She had always loved nature, the grass, the flowers, the trees, the brooks, and all of the animals. Oh what she wouldn't give to have her own little hideaway, a cottage in the woods that she could escape to and be free in. Her mind daydreamed of a life outside of the castle and a life in a world she never knew for the rest of the ride.

Having stood on the back of the carriage for nearly thirty-two minutes the carriage finally lurched to a stop. She almost fell out of her seat the stop was so sudden. Frederick opened the doors for them and assisted them out. The view was amazing. The biggest of biggest fields of rainbows were painted on flowers in the fullest of bloom dancing in the wind like fairies. The grass bobbed like an inviting playful sea and the trees waved hello as they finally reached their destination. It was perhaps the most beautiful vision she had ever seen. How had she not come to this place before? How had she not ventured so far from the castle? Oh how she wished that hike up the mountain would have been easier to climb so she could have seen this sooner. . . Perhaps Adam would have taken her here. . .

The scene was so beautiful and bright, but as Florian stepped closer everything seemed to grow dark and chilling. That looming shadow from before showed its ominous head again and Snow White felt exposed with her back to Prince Florian.

"This is possibly the second most beautiful thing I have ever seen." Prince Florian said as he slid his hand around her shoulders. Her skin crawled and she had to resist the urge of wanting to run away from him and his reach and his touch.

"The second?" Snow White asked with a raised eyebrow. By his tone she could tell that he was trying to be flirtatious, but how many women had he seduced with lines like this?

"The first being you, my dear." He smiled down at her and she threw on a quick smile and nodded a thank you to satisfy him. And satisfied did he look as he squeezed her shoulder tighter and pulled her closer. For being out in the sun all day he was alarmingly chilly to the point it burned her through her cloak.

"Yes, this is my favorite place to come to." The Queen spoke from behind them. "It reminds me of my own home and the beauty it was once upon a time. . ."

Snow White wished she could have said something to continue the thought and the conversation of learning more about her past, but she felt she no longer needed to. She only wished her dead, why should she want to get to know or understand the Queen any longer?

"But it is only ever this beautiful in the spring and I have forbidden any of the peasants from taking even the smallest peek to seeing it." The Queen threw on a funny looking smile that crinkled her nose. It seemed very fake to Snow White and very insincere.

"I can see why you'd keep this to yourself." Prince Florian chuckled. "It is quite marvelous."

"Yes." She smiled rather greedily. "My favorite thing is the flowers."

"The flowers?" Snow White turned and blinked at her in utter surprise. In all the years that she brought her flowers she always tossed them out. She had always assumed that the Queen hated flowers; or perhaps it was just the ones she picked that she hated so much. . .

"Yes, I love the wild flowers that bloom here." Her smile became snakelike. "They're so rare and only ever grow here, so I always have some brought back to the castle."

"I can see why." Snow White offered a smile and had to fight down her growing nervous. With Prince Florian latched to her side and refusing to let her go she felt trapped but all means and sense of the word. She would try to convey a look to Frederick for assistance, but it would only put him in a position that would be terrible and harmful. . .

"Snow White, my dear." The Queen stepped forward and took Snow White's hands. Her hands were cold, distant, as if she wanted to continue to build walls and shove Snow White away, to do away with her. "Would you be a dear and go pick me some flowers?"

"M-Me?" She blinked in surprise and quickly glanced at Frederick.

"Since we've been getting closer." The Queen continued and Snow White could hear the forced sweetness in her voice and it made her sick. How many times had she used that exact voice to woo Snow white into doing her bidding? "I would love to have a pretty arrangement made by my beautiful daughter."

"If that is what the Queen wishes. . ." She forced a smile and gulped. She did not like where this was going. Oh how she wished Adam were here. . . She would do anything to have him here to take her from this place. . .

"I do." She patted Snow White's hands. "And Prince Florian can go with you while Frederick stays here and helps set up for the picnic."

"I would be more than happy to do so." Prince Florian perked up and slid his hand through her arm and linked arms with her, practically chaining her to his side. "That would be fun, wouldn't it dear?"

Again with the needless pet names. She was between two beasts who seemed to only want her downfall. What else could she do but to fall into their trap? There was no exit, no way out. She could not tell the Queen no without someone else getting hurt in the end. She could not tell Prince Florian no without causing a scene or him being terribly mean to her. No, the safest option would be to go through with their idea.

"Y-Yes." She blinked back tears and forced another smile on. She could feel herself beginning to tremble, but she would not shake in Prince Florian's arms. She could not let him know how absolutely terrified she was. No, she must allow him to think she was still naïve and gullible and stupid. She would play her part.

With a quick tug of her arm, Prince Florian grabbed her hand and began to drag her in his running down the fills to the large flower fields. She had to pick up her skirts of her dress to keep up, she would keep up, she would not allow him to purposely drag her and her new dress in the dirt and mud.

"You keep up pretty well for a princess." Prince Florian laughed over his shoulder. For the first time Snow White believed she heard and actual boyish laugh from him. He looked to be having fun as they made their way into the fields.

"I won't be outdone just because I'm in a dress." She responded with a laugh of her own. How could she actually find this to be fun? It had to have been the adrenaline rush. There was something bubbling within her that was just excited to be running in a field of flowers that seemed to promise her freedom.

More laughter escaped them as they continued down the hill and finally came down to the flatter parts of the valley. Prince Florian released her hand and as they continued running, butterflies flew all around them in a flurry that Snow White could not help but laugh. It felt so good to laugh, she felt free and there was something within her blooming as she spun around in a circle. Some of the butterflies brushed her skin as she twirled in a circle before falling back in the folds of flowers. Laying in the flowers the sun warmed her as it gently kissed her pale skin. AS she sat up she noticed that Prince Florian was staring, gawking at her and was very pink faced. His hand went over his nose and hid half of his face.

"This is the most wonderful thing I've ever seen." She laughed and hugged a bundle of flowers. "I've never seen so many beautiful flowers!"

"I've never seen anything this beautiful either. . ." Prince Florian mumbled. Snow White in her fits of laughter hadn't quite caught what he said and as she sat up to ask him what he said, he was a few feet in front of him.

"What did you say?" She tried to stop her laughter and tucked some of her straying curls behind her ear. She looked to him and saw something within his features change, something softened. The ominous presence dissipated almost completely as he continued to approach her and kneeled before her. He just kept staring at her, and for the first time she had not felt as though she were being seen as an object of unwanted desire. There was no malice, no anger, no meanness in his fact, there was a boyish sincerity in his gaze as he stared seriously at her. He stayed about three feet from her as he too sat amongst the flowers.

"P-Prince Florian?" She stammered and quickly gulped as she found that she could not look away from him. She was not intimidated by him, nor was she uncomfortable, but his gaze made her face warm far too much. Her heart pitter pattered in her chest. Subconsciously her hand went to her chest to quiet it and she almost gasped as he reached for her other hand.

"I said I've never seen anything this beautiful before." He stared deeply into her eyes.

"The flowers are very beautiful – "

"No, not the flowers." He gently shook his head and used his other hand to trap her one hand between his two. "You. I've never seen someone so beautiful before."

"S-Surely you're mistaken." She felt her face burn and she wanted to slip her hand away from his.

"Surely I'm not." He spoke seriously and the tone in his voice somehow deepened. "You, Princess Snow White, are the most beautiful person I have ever seen."

"Thank you. . ." She carefully slipped her hand away. "I-I'm flattered. . ."

She had no idea what to say. He'd never looked at her this way before, as if he actually liked her, as if he might even –

"I'm serious." He never took his eyes away from her. "You're the fairest of them all, Snow White."

She studied his face, trying to read what his eyes were telling her. His face was still soft, endearing even, almost apologetic as if he was hiding something from her. She had no idea what to make of it. He had far too many walls for her to actually be able to see what it was that he was hiding from her. Instead she only smiled at him and pushed herself to a stand. He stood quickly and took a half step closer, as if he were scared he would scare her off like a hunter with prey.

"Do you know what flowers your mother likes?" She asked and dusted her skirts off. She only hoped that would be enough to distract him.

"I don't know what kind of flowers she likes." He gave an awkward shrug. "She likes the colors blue and yellow though."

"Well, there's plenty here." She smiled at him. "We should get to picking. They'll have quite the time setting up the picnic if it is up to the Queen's standards."

She slowly began to wander from him as she began her search for flowers for her bouquets that she would make. She would make one for Prince Florian's mother, one for the Queen per her request, a small one for Frederick, a small flower wreath crown to hand in her room, and perhaps a small boutonniere for Adam. She paused in her walking at the thought of Adam and she momentarily looked over her shoulder to see if he had finally caught up with them. She looked up the hills and was surprised how far down she and Prince Florian were coming. She only saw the Queen sitting on a picnic blanket and Frederick standing behind her while the servants continued to set up for the picnic. Still no sign of Adam. Her heart quivered and ached in disappointment, and there was nothing she could do to ease it.

As she looked back she saw that Prince Florian had a small handful of flowers and kept looking from his bouquet to her as he picked his flowers and kept inching closer to her. She turned to the side to keep him in the corner of her eye as she began to pick her own flowers. There were white and purple and blue anemones, purple asters, delicate baby's breath, yawning yellow begonias, petite pale carnations, gorgeous cornflowers, dancing daffodils and daisies and dandelions! There were just so many flowers she simply could not name them all.

She began to pick flowers and gather them into bundles. She started with the blues and yellows, for the Queen of Franca. She wasn't entirely sure how long the flowers would last before he returned to Franca, but she hoped that they would be well received. She made sure that it was full enough to hold as many flowers as possible, but not too much to be overly done. When she was satisfied with her bouquet for the Queen of Franca she look some of the long strands of waving grass and twisted them around the stems of the flowers.

"You're really good at that." Prince Florian had somehow gotten behind her.

"Thank you." She answered quietly and smoothed down the grass so she could sit down again. It was rather difficult for her to stand over the small flowers and she preferred to be at eye level with them to make pretty bouquets. Prince Florian sat down and allowed his foot to rest next to hers. A weird tingle went through her as his boot touched her shoe.

"Who is that for?" He pointed to her bouquet.

"You're mother." She handed it off to him and began picking the blues and purples and deeper colors for the Queen.

"She'll love it." He smiled as he gently held the flowers.

"I hope so." She smiled as she continued to gather flowers into a medium bundle.

"And that one?" He asked scooting closer to her.

"The Queen." She responded and remained as still as possible. She had no clue what to do with this different side of Prince Florian. It slightly alarmed her more than his angry side.

"How do you do that?" He asked studying what she was doing. "I thought you were just supposed to pick flowers. But you're actually arranging them, somehow."

"It's not hard." She kept her eyes on the flowers as she continued to put them together. "You just have to make it look right."

"I obviously don't know how to do that." He snorted and she looked at the bundle he had. It was very obvious that he had just gone around picking random flowers not even caring that they looked slightly wilted. "I didn't realize that there was an actual art to it."

"Just a careful eye." She offered gently and handed the other bouquet to him.

"And carefully hands." He caught her hand again held it tightly. His eyes searched for hers again and Snow White could not help but furrow her brow at him as she tried to figure out what it was that he was doing. He was just acting so strange.

"Is something wrong?" She asked carefully, waiting for him to suddenly change back to being mean.

"Should something be wrong?" He looked confused as he looked at her. Those brown eyes looked so confused.

"I don't know." She withdrew from him again and began to work on her wreath. It would have baby's breathe and cornflowers.

"Snow White." Prince Florian spoke to her. "What do you think of me?"

"I beg your pardon?" She blinked in surprise at him.

"What do you think of me?" His eyes were serious but he had a nervous smile.

"That's rather difficult to answer." She admitted and turned away from him.

"I can imagine so." He laughed dryly. "I haven't been very kind to you."

She said nothing, kept her head still, and kept her eyes and hands focused on weaving the flowers together.

"Snow White." Prince Florian spoke to her. "What do you think of me?"

"I beg your pardon?" She blinked in surprise at him.

"What do you think of me?" His eyes were serious but he had a nervous smile.

"That's rather difficult to answer." She admitted and turned away from him.

"I can imagine so." He laughed dryly. "I haven't been very kind to you."

She said nothing, kept her head still, and kept her eyes and hands focused on weaving the flowers together. To say he had not been very kind to her was the least to say in the matter. She found this sudden turn around as a possible chance that he might not be so bad after all, though there seemed to be something deeper lying within him.

"You are handsome." She would credit him that he was attractive. "But aside from that I could not tell you anything that would be a redeeming quality without it being a lie."

"I wouldn't mind." He laughed slightly with a joking grin.

"I would." She stared at him seriously and it seemed to surprise him. "I may be naïve and stupid, but I will not be a liar, Prince Florian. Many a thing has been said of me, but a liar I am not."

His mouth fell open and his surprise only grew as the realization hit him. She had heard what he said about her that day and now he knew that she knew. She stared at him and could not help but wonder how naïve and stupid he thought of her now.

"No, I don't think I could fault you of that." He laughed more nervously. "But, do you think you could come up with something else?"

She almost gawked at him, but there was something pleading in his eyes that needed something more. He knew he was charming and handsome, he had been told it all his life and he hadn't a single scratch on him. No, he needed more value to him other than being attractive and charming.

"Well. . ." She took a deep breath and refocused her attention on the flowers. "Despite your lack of kindness that you have shown me, I can say that you're enthusiastic, determined, and zealous, sometimes too overzealous; though I think everyone in the world truly can be. I also think that you could be a great king, you just have to stop being selfish."

"Oh?" He snorted, his smile faltered. "How would you suppose I do that?"

"Be kind to others and the people of your kingdom." She stopped meddling with the flowers and looked at him with no trace of smile. "Kindness is not a weakness and does not give others a way to walk over you as you and the Queen seem to think of me." Again another surprised look. "You have the upbringing and makings of a king, but also a dictator. One will deem you much higher in your country and the other will completely ruin you."

"You're much bolder than you have previously presented yourself, Snow White." The boyish look within his eyes was quickly diminishing and something else was replacing it. Something else that Snow White greatly disliked.

"I have presented myself as who I am, not as who you have interpreted me to be." She turned back to her flowers and decided to give up on making that wreath. She had twisted the stems together one too many times and now they were much more withered than they should have been.

"I must say that I think I like this side of you more, Snow White." Florian admitted and propped back on his hands, tapping his foot against hers. "There is hardly anyone who challenges me; especially in the way in which you have."

"I only hope that I have challenged you to be better then." Snow White admitted softly. "It would make you so much more likeable if it did."

Out of the corner of her eye, tucked away under the brush and stems of the higher flowers that Snow White found the prettiest shade of blue. The moment she saw them, and she wasn't sure why, but those were those were Adam's flowers. Those were to be his flowers. Very carefully she plucked the flowers and began to weave them into a small boutonniere. She went back to her flower arranging while Prince Florian fell into a small lull of silence.

"Do you mean that?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Mean what?"

"Do you mean that I would be much more likeable if I heeded your words and tried to be kind?" His nose turned up as though he could not stand the sound of that.

"I do." She nodded as she plucked the long pieces of grass around Adam's flowers to bind them tightly. "I think it would make you very much likeable."

"Would you find me more likeable?" He cleared his throat and she could feel his gaze intently on her. "If I were to change, I mean?

She finished her flower arranging and her movements became slow as his question echoed in her ears. There was something more to that question that made her nervous. Her hands began to shake. She tightly held onto Adam's flowers to keep them from shaking too obviously. She slowly looked at him, slightly fearful of what she might see. If he were actually asking what she thought he was asking. . .

Her head turned slowly as her eyes slowly met his. He was sitting up straight with serious face looking at her expectantly. Those brown eyes were already searching for an unseekable answer, but so desperately wanting one. He looked both boyish as well as a man instead of the rude and immature teenager that he had shown to her. She for a hesitant moment thought that perhaps he too was different than how she had originally thought of him. She entertained the thought that maybe, just maybe she could have been happy with him. If she stripped him of the terrible qualities that he had shown her while he was here, he wasn't terrible, definitely not the best but not entirely the worst. . . Even entertaining the thought though, her heart ached and immediately the flowers in her hands reminded her of who she should not forget.

"Well?" He sounded very impatient and rather nervous.

"I do think that I would find you very likable, Prince Florian." She took a deep breath as she continued. "However, I do not know if it would be enough to make me happy, or fall in love with you."

"Surely with time –" He laughed and the nervousness was quickly replaced by his impatience.

"Prince Florian." She would not be cut off this time. "I have just told you that I will not be made a liar."

"I know but –"

"I will not give you the false hope of entertaining the idea that I could in time come to love you." She dug her nail into her own skin so as not to damage Adam's flowers. "Thinking of you in a likeable manner is a far cry from loving you."

"But you just said that I would be a good king!"

"And I do believe that." She nodded, hoping to choose her words carefully. "I think you will be a good king. . . I just do not see you as my king nor my husband."

She could see it in his eyes, that ominous presence from before returned and something within him snapped and completely snatched away the remaining boyhood in him.

"It's because of him, isn't it?" He asked, his tone darkening as well as deepening. "It's because of Adam, isn't it?"

She kept her mouth close because she did not want to admit it, nor could she deny it.

"He's not even here." She could see his hands trembling with anger as he looked at her. "How can you still be set on him when he's not even here? He walked out on you last night!"

"He has his reasons." She swallowed hard and dug her nails deeper into her skin.

"He left you!" His voice was level, but she could tell he was getting ready to yell. "I would never have left you!"

"Just like the sweet maids in the castle that you promised not to leave?" Snow White challenged coolly. The maids were very aware of Prince Florian and his empty promises, but the girls still dared to dream. Those dreams were very easily shattered with reality and tears as they knew it was a dream that would never come true and that he had maid hopped on more than one night in his stay here.

The look of surprise was replaced by shock on his face.

"Did you really think I would not know?" Snow White's voice cracked for a mere instance. "Those girls are my friends. I have heard the stories. Yes, you are quite the lover in bed, but you make promises that you do not intend to keep."

"So you are making me out to be a liar?" He challenged, a fire in his eyes as he stood.

"I am not making you out to be anything more than what you have shown yourself to be, Prince Florian." She too stood with some strange found strength and fire within her own belly. She would not allow him to belittle her any longer. "And it is yourself that has made you into a liar."

Those brown eyes had never been so hateful, so vengeful before as he clenched his jaw and swatted the flowers at her. "You bitch." He snapped and continued to hit her with the flowers, petals and leaves and pollen stems going everywhere as he continued to call her that. She stepped away from him, retreating into the woods as Prince Florian continued to come at her with the flowers, throwing the remains of the bouquets at her.

She held Adam's flowers in her hand and picked up her skirts in the others as she pushed herself to run. She hadn't gone far and her lungs demanded air, her sides burned from lack of nourishment, and her limbs screamed at her as she ran. She felt something hit her, and it hit her hard, but she needed to keep running. This fitful rage that Prince Florian was in would do her nothing good if she stopped now.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying this so far!_

_I hope I was able to make for length in this chapter for you lovely readers. Sadly I must say please continue to be patient with me and my updates. I'm on my honeymoon and I plan to enjoy my own time of happiness and my own small fairytale before I must begrudgingly come back to reality._

_Thanks so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

FLORIAN

Red was all he could see. Blood was what he craved for. She was what he had lusted for. Whatever she did, whatever spell she had cast him under in the flurry of wind and petals, for the first time in his life he felt his heart pitter patter for a useless thin princess that he was in a set chase. He actually saw himself somehow marrying her, they would have had beautiful children, she was just what she needed to fulfill the grand picture; but she just had to keep running her mouth and ruin it. She had put him on such a high, making him out to be more than what he was, saying he could be good, great even! He believed her, through her words he believed that he could have been a great king. Kindness? Ha! What had kindness ever done to him? It never got him what he wanted. No, using force had gotten him what he wanted. He was more familiar with force, brutality even. He had been taught by his own parents through brutality. What kindness had ever been shown to him?

Not only did she build him up and set his heart aflame for her, but she dared to say she wasn't a liar and called him one! The gall of the little wench would cost her greatly. Not only would he carve out her heart for the Queen, but he would have his way with her. They were deep enough in the forest within the valley that no one, not even the winds would hear her scream. He would make her regret her words, her choice, to choose Adam over him. He for the smallest fraction of a second wanted to give her a second chance, hesitated on wanting to kill her. That was his only kindness he would have ever shown her; but she had to go and run her mouth and ruin it. He could have her. He must have her. He would have her, with or without her wanting so.

She ran faster than what he originally credited her to do, but he would catch her. He always caught his prey. Florian in his chase threw rocks that he scooped up at her, finding bigger and sharper ones at her. He was aiming for her feet and knees but kept hitting her back instead. She hadn't slowed down, and only kept pushing herself despite tripping over tree roots. He almost laughed at her efforts, perhaps he had, he was very far from himself and could only see the red of passion running away from him. Finally he picked up a good weighted rock. He threw it. It flung in the air. It caught her ankle at the same time it caught in a raised tree root. With a small cry she tumbled to the ground, her gray cloak flurrying about her and falling away from her. Good, one less thing to have to worry about in removing the heart.

She pushed herself up onto her elbows, her hand still clutching that small bouquet of flowers. Florian slowly approached her. "You know, I meant what I said." He laughed, mostly at himself. "I was willing to change for you. I, Prince Florian of Franca, was willing to change for a stupid princess like you!"

He kicked her as hard as he could in the side and carried the foot out to her elbow. She fell back on the ground, arm holding her side while the other still held tight to the flowers. He looked down at her and found himself really enjoying that pained look on her face. Oh how he couldn't wait to inflict more on her.

"Time fixes things." He rambled. "Time fixed things with my parents; it would have fixed things between us." He kicked and half stomped on her arm that held tightly to the flowers. She cried out in pain and he relished the sound of her pained cries. Yes, he would very much enjoy having her before cutting her heart out.

"It would never have fixed things for us." She argued and pushed herself up on her elbows again. "Never."

"Oh, and why is that?" He tried to sound hurt, and somewhere deep within him there was a chance that he was. But he would not hurt the same way she was hurting.

"I never could have loved you." For once those brown eyes that were full of innocence and kindness where finally full of anger, and perhaps hate, but also sadness. He enjoyed the look on her face, the fire in her eyes, the defiance that would tumble greatly once he had conquered her.

"Oh, what?" He laughed feeling maniac. He just couldn't help himself, he was having too much fun. "Is it your precious Adam that kept you from loving me?"

"I tried to love you." The anger and hate vanished and sadness and pity, oh how he hated pity, replaced it. "I really, really did. You were just. . . Just. . ."

"Too handsome?"

"Too mean." He faltered and glared down at her. "I thought that if I were nicer to you that somehow, someway you would have –"

"What, changed?" He scoffed with another maniac laugh. "For you?"

"I think I could have, in time, I think I would have grown to truly love you. . ." As much as he wanted to call her a liar, spit in her face, continue to beat on her, there was something far too sincere for his liking that told him she was telling the truth. Not that it mattered now, anyways, he still had a job to do. "But after this. . . no, I never could have come to love you without fearing for my life."

"Shut up." He kicked her again and she went rolling around in the dirt. She gasped for air as she rolled onto her back. He looked down at her, she was covered in dirt and she already had a bit of blood from her mouth already. Wow, was she really that fragile? She was going to be a lot of fun to enjoy breaking, though he would have to be quick because it looked as though she would break fast. He bent down and pulled her up by her hair. This time she did not cry out in pain, but he could see the pleading and begging look in her eyes for mercy. "If it's taken you this long to fear for your life, you're going to wish you had never met me."

"I-" She croaked in pain. "I already do!"

Much to his surprise she was able to kick him hard in his nether regions. It was just hard enough to make him drop her for a second as he buckled over. It felt as though one of them had burst open and was ready to fall out of its sac and drag the other with it. He would not be down for long, though, the dagger dangling at his hip reminded him of that. He had been down just long enough for her to get away. Not that it bothered him, he enjoyed the chase of a good hunt, and now he had more reasons to be determined in finding her.

"You can run, Snow White." He bellowed, hearing his own voice echo through the forest. "Run as fast as you can! I will find you! And when I do, I'm going to enjoy ripping out your heart!"

He stood still to listen to any rustling of leaves, branches, the breaking off twigs or anything else of that sort. There was something off to his right moving away from him. He smirked as he took that as his mark and began the chase again.

"I hear you, Snow White." He called, chasing after the rustling noises. He was gaining on her, he could see the breakage of the high grass as she made her path ahead of him. "I'm coming for you!"

He noticed that up ahead was a clearing and that he would be able to catch her then. He sprinted, making himself to move faster, and reached the clearing. However, much to his dismay, there was no Snow White and instead a female boar stomping and getting ready to charge. Its fur bristled and it snorted at him.

"Oh, you want a go too?" He laughed at the boar. "Then let's have it!"

He screamed as he charged at the boar, the boar squealed as it too charged him. All he could see was red; all he felt was lust; and he craved blood. He felt crazed, as if killing Snow White had possessed him and demanded that it must be done else his existence meant nothing. She had said she would never love him far too many times for his liking. If he couldn't have the fairest maiden in all the Realm, then no one else could; especially not Adam.

* * *

SNOW WHITE

"You can run, Snow White." She heard Prince Florian bellow and how she wished she could just become invisible again. "Run as fast as you can! I will find you! And when I do, I'm going to enjoy ripping out your heart!"

Running. Running. Have to keep running. Don't stop.

She kept running. She had to, if she stopped she would be killed. She should have known better than to have allowed herself to be alone with Prince Florian! Frederick had warned her! She only had herself to blame and only herself to save now.

"Adam." The tears leaked from her eyes as she ran, she didn't stop them and only clutched the flowers tighter in her hand. "Adam, where are you?"

Running. Running. Don't stop running, or he'll get you.

She had never been to this forest before, she had never been to this valley before, and she was surely lost. She didn't care, being lost at least would keep her safe and away from the tormentors of her life.

"Help." She croaked as she ran blindly, wildly through the forest. "Adam, help!"

Deep, deeper and into the deepest parts of the darkest forest. The trees grew higher, there were scary faces carved into the trees. The sky began to disappear, it was tangled in the high black branches. The wind whispered many dark secrets, secrets that betrayed her fear and only terrified her more. Leaves and tall grass brushed past her, it felt like insects crawling on her arms. She had to resist the scream that flew to her throat; she didn't want to give her position away. Prince Florian was after her and she had to keep quiet.

The tears blurred her vision and she tripped over a raised tree root and went tumbling down down down a steep hill until she landed in the swamp. Her whole head went under, and she gasped for air as soon as she surfaced. She hated the dark darkness. She was terrified of the dark, even at eighteen she still had to sleep with a candle on for fear of the thigs of her nightmares coming out to ear her. Darkness was all around her, she was swimming, half drowning in the darkness. She struggled to swim to the shore, but she did, she lost a shoe too, but she would not let that stop her.

Run, run, run as fast as you can, don't be caught or you'll be a dead woman.

She kept going and going running and running until she finally saw the smallest glimpse of sun! The tiniest bit of light! She ran even faster to the light. As soon as she reached it the darkness left her and though she was cold she was growing warmer. She paused for the smallest second to catch her breath. Her lungs had screamed at her, her throat burned, her eyes were flooded with tears. Her ribs hurt, the worst needle prickling, knife stabbing pain feeling was back. The two evil men before in her life had left plenty scars before and the pain in her ribs had only reminded her of that. She was trapped, trapped in a world that hated her, wanted to get rid of her! She wasn't sure what she had done, but oh was she sorry for it. She would do anything to be forgiven and not to be hated by everything and everyone so much as she had.

"Adam." She fell to her knees, her hand holding her face. "Adam, where are you?"

"Aw, the wee princess still wants her prince, does she?" Her head snapped up in utter horror as Prince Florian stood on a ledge, hands and dagger covered in blood. Her blood froze at the sight of him, and only chilled her to the bone as he let out a terrible murderous laugh.

"Adam . . ." Her entire being shook, shivering from the cold, out of fear. Oh how she should not have run into the light.

"Still calling for him?" He tutted and a crazed look rested in his eyes, the ominous shadow looming behind him ready to devour her. "Hate to break it to you princess, but he's not coming."

He jumped down from the ledge and landed in a few puddles from the swamp. He walked slowly towards her, raising that dagger.

"You know, I was going to enjoy myself with you, show you what it would have been like to have been with me." He smiled like a lunatic. "But I think I'd rather enjoy myself in spite that you still love that fake prince, and that he will never have you."

"P-Please don't." She shook her head, tears falling as her fear was already exposed.

"It'll be quick." He laughed as though that would reassure her. "That I promise you."

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story!_

_A short chapter after a long one, just to build up the tension, I assure you. Please continue to read and leave me reviews and send me messages. They fill me with joy and makes me very happy to write a very successful story to have provided so much entertainment for so many of you._

_Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

ADAM

In the darkness where he lay he was warm. There was a small blanket that laid over him and he did not want to get up. He felt heavy, like his body refusing to listen to him; maybe it was the blanket? Maybe it was his half wet clothes. He wanted to sleep for another day if he could. He would but he needed to get Snow White from the castle.

"Snow White!" He eyes shot open with and he realized he was not in the castle or in darkness, no he was in the Dwarves' house asleep in front of a dying fire. He sat up, his half wet clothes restricting his movements. Beside him the Grumpy Dwarf slept soundly though he looked uncomfortable with his arms and legs crossed. Adam looked to the window and no longer heard the rain and though it was still dark outside the sun was definitely coming to awaken the day. He hissed a curse as he flung the blanket from his body and stood and instantly hit his head.

"Ow." He hissed in pain, greatly forgetting that he was too big for this house.

"What are you doing?" Grumpy barked as he had jumped awake. He rubbed his eyes and glared up at Adam. "Why're you still here?"

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Adam hissed and rubbed his head and tried to match over to the door while he was hunched over.

"I did." Grumpy rolled his eyes and snatched the blanket from the floor and wrapped it around his shoulders. "You just went back to sleep."

"When?" Adam scrabbled around to get his boots on his feet.

"Round three this morning." He crossed his arms and began to tap his foot. "You sat up then fell right back down and went back to sleep. Wouldn't surprise me if you fell asleep cause how hard ya hit yore head."

"Why did you let me go back to sleep?" He stood up again and his head again. He would eventually get used to that. . .

"Because there was no reason to wake you back up." He glared. "I did what you asked, it's yore fault you didn't get up."

"Do you even know- !" His anger flared as he stomped his foot into his boot.

"How bout instead of yellin' at me, ya get on outta here?" Grumpy dragged his hand down his face. "Ya gotta princess ta save, don'tcha? You're just wasting time barking at me when you coulda saved her by now!"

Gritting his teeth Adam left the Dwarves house in an angry defeat. As much as he actually wanted to yell at the Grumpy Dwarf, he could not because the Dwarf had been right. Not only had he failed to awaken, but he also was wasting time by being immature. His anger only turned on himself and provided the sufficient fuel he needed to go running through the mountains. He had to hurry, he had to beat the sun. He didn't want to keep her waiting any longer than she had to. Knowing Frederick he actually told Snow White of the plan of getting her out of there, and knowing Snow White she would have been packed and up and waiting for him. There was one thing that Snow White had always counted on Adam for and that had been that he was always early, never late.

Must beat the sun. Must beat the sun.

It was a race against the sun to get the castle, which Adam had fallen greatly behind on. As the sun rose through its clear and cloudless sky, Adam had to fight through low bearing branches and insects that were up too. He still managed to run through them, though. He would go through anything to get her safe, he only wished that he would make it on time. He was so thankful that the trek was down the mountain and not up the mountain again or else he would not have had as much momentum or speed.

Must beat the sun. Must get to the castle!

Dawn had shined through by the time he made it down the base of the mountain and as he began his trek through the villages. It was once he was on flat level ground again that his fatigue and hunger had caught up with him. Though he had plentiful sleep, his stomach was empty and he was literally running on fumes. He was sweating profusely and he did not even try to control the vapors that escaped from his body. Between the still drying coat and the squishing of his socks in his boots, his feet were already uncomfortable and his body was still heavy, as if he were running around with a boulder on his back. He was panting heavily and he was already seeing black spots; he obviously had not healed from last night's fight as much as he thought he had. His limbs and lungs were already screaming at him to stop.

"Hey mister!" A child called from out in the fields. Adam stopped to look and a blonde haired farm boy was waving his arms as he came running up to him. "Hey mister, are you all right?" He panted a little as he looked up at Adam.

"I'm fine." He regretted having to have stopped. His body shook and his lungs felt as though they were ready to explode and his heart beat far too quickly. Just how long had he actually been running?

"You don't look it." The boy tilted his head as he looked up.

"Child, I do not have time to stand here and talk with you –"

"Would you like a ride?" He asked unblinkingly.

"What?"

"My dad and me are fixing ta bring in some of our crops to the festival to sell." He explained. "Would you like a ride into town?"

He really shouldn't. He should just keep running, but he was just so tired. . .

"Y-Yes." He admitted and looked to see the boy's father standing by a horse drawn wagon, his hand on his hip waiting and watching. "I would like that very much."

"Come on." The kid smiled and ran over to his dad. Adam followed and the farmer immediately took off his hat.

"P-Prince Adam!" The farmer croaked and kneeled before him. "Oh, your highness, I hadn't realized that was you! I would have spoken to you myself!"

"I-It's fine." He waved it off and felt unnaturally warm. "I just need a ride into town. . ."

"You'll have to ride in the back." The boy said. "You can lay down and keep the vegetables from falling out."

"Eli!" The farmer snapped. "That is no way to speak to royalty!"

"It's fine." Adam waved the man's worries away. "he speaks the truth. I could really use a lie down, and if it helps you in the process I see no harm in it. . ."

"Right." The farmer looked confused. "Well, let's load up then."

The farmer took his place in the driver's seat while the boy sat in the back with Adam while Adam took the opportunity to sit. The heat was especially bothering him now and while his clothes finally had a chance to dry from the shower last night, they were pretty damp with his sweat now. He sat horizontally so as to act as a door to keep both the boy and vegetables from falling out. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Though the sun was greatly beating him he would still make in time. He just needed to rest for a few minutes so that his body wouldn't feel so heavy. . . just a few minutes.

"You don't look too good, Mister Prince." The boy spoke boredly. "You look pretty sick."

"I feel pretty sick." Adam answered weakly. His body felt way too hot, even for wearing his usual layers in the sun. He was sweating far too much and it was getting harder and harder to keep the toxic vapors to himself.

"Well throw up thattaway if you do." The boy's nose turned up as he pointed away from him. "I don't want all the vegetables getting gross."

"Will do." Adam snorted slightly and willed himself to attempt to sleep; but his body refused as it was trying to fight off the terrible fever that was slowing him down. Though Adam still would have preferred to have run so that he would have remained awake, it would have been terrible if he made it all the way there and then could not bring Snow White up the mountain. No, as much as he hated to admit it he needed rest, even for a few moments so he could have his fullest strength to save Snow White from the castle.

The roads were bumpy and greatly jostled Adam's thoughts along with the vegetables. What was he even going to do once he got Snow White out of the castle? How long could he actually keep her hidden in the Dwarves' cottage in the dark forest? Not forever, surely, but how long until things would be safe? He hadn't figured this much out as he originally thought. So long as the Queen lived and hated Snow White she would always be a threat and would try to kill Snow White. The Queen would rely on that Mirror to do her dirty work . . . The Mirror, Frederick had said that had originally the Queen fell into the dark arts because of the Mirror. Perhaps her powers had been linked to the grimoire of dark arts this entire time. . . If he could just find that and burn it, then he could take away her powers and that would get rid of the Mirror; just maybe though. . .

His eyes slowly opened as he thought on this. He was in a time that wasn't his own, when the Queen was still young and not as versed in magic as she was in his time. She was still drinking people's blood as a way to renew her youth; that was still very early on her magic years. Though she left her grimoire out relatively in the open she always had a heavy and strong protection spell on it. He could remember the number of times he had tried to take it or even tried to burn it, nothing would work on it. Even she in her old age could not pick it up any longer because of how heavy the book grew with her age and years in the dark arts. . . Maybe it was light enough now? Maybe he had a chance of getting rid of it now.

"Prince Adam." The farmer called over his shoulder and Adam snapped to attention. "We're here."

Squinting in the sunlight that was cast on the town he could see that he was still just barely in time before they all went to breakfast. If he could just make it in time he could still get her out of the castle unnoticed, they would just have to lay low until Frederick could get them a way out. Adam didn't even wait for the wagon to stop before hopping off and making his way towards the castle. He stayed as best he could within the shadows and away from the people. He was still close enough to his house in the town that he could momentarily stop and grab a new weapon, or his cloak, or even a hat or something. No, if he stopped now it would just be another delay in her rescue, and he couldn't afford anymore lost time. Still he slipped in the alleys where the sun still had yet to touch and ran in the shade as long as he could to get to the castle.

He begrudgingly took the longest way, but he also took the way that would take them to the servants quarters. Snow White had not been allowed to most into the East Wing of the castle because the Queen had taken up the rooms for her closets that held everything from clothes and jewelry to things that should only ever remain in the grave; not that Snow White seemed to want to move out of her little room anyways. He had been so glad that she had not wanted to move rooms either, it made getting to her room much easier. He stepped as quietly as he could and went unnoticed as he went to her room. He found it odd that he had not seen Frederick yet, he greatly anticipated him giving Adam a scolding for being late. He tried not to think about it as he went to Snow White's room.

He knocked once.

No answer.

He knocked a second time.

No answer.

"Snow White." He whispered as he knocked a third time. "It's me, Adam."

No answer.

He blinked in surprise and gently pushed the door open. The room was empty, and much to Adam's chagrin there were two bags packed on her bed. He winced as he realized she had probably spent the better half of the night waiting up for him. His heart ached right alongside the rest of his body at the thought of her being disappointed in him. He stood there in the threshold of her door debating on what would be his best options. He could very well just barge into the dining hall and go claim her for himself, but that would cause too much of a seen. If he stayed here in her room though, they could easily slip out the servants entrance and be gone before anyone noticed them; her bed looked far too tempting.

"P-Prince Adam?" A maid asked from behind him. "C-Can I help you with something?"

He looked and could see a younger girl, no older that fifteen looking around nervously.

"Where's Snow White?" He asked calmly.

"T-The Princess?" She blinked in surprise. "She, the Queen and the Prince of Franca have gone down to the festival."

"What?" He closed Snow White's door behind him. "When? It's only breakfast!"

"t-They had an early breakfast, your highness." She stammered on. "They were all up early and wanted to get a start to the last day of the festival; especially the Queen and the Prince of Franca."

"I bet they did." He grimaced and fell back against the stone wall behind him. The stone wall was cool and felt amazing on his cheek.

"A-Are you all right, your highness?" The girl asked. "You look p-paler than usual. Yo're sweating quite badly too."

"Went for a run this morning." He pushed himself off the wall and forced himself to walk. "I'm fine."

He had never been one to believe in luck or fate because the world had always seemed to be against him. He had only ever known a dark and cruel world that only ever hated him and wanted to use him for malicious purposes for its own selfish gain. He had been content on living in that dark world, listlessly falling in the tides of anger and blood waiting until he no longer served a purpose until she showed him what living truly was. Snow White had been a light, a real genuine light that showed what actual living was. He always thought that his only purpose was ever to serve the Evil Queen, but Snow White gave him a second chance. Part of him damned the hope that threaten to come out of him, but he could not help but want another life. Killing, poisoning, torturing – he was so tired of that life, though he knew it would be hard to come back from he must change his life. He was overtly aware that he did not deserve Snow White or her kindness or even any of her affections, he cherished them greatly, but he could not allow himself to be greedy or else it would cost her her life; he couldn't bear that. Her life was too precious, too important, he must save her.

By the time Adam returned to the town everything and everyone was bustling about. Even in the back alleys he had to shove and squeeze his way through. He should have come into this with a better plan! There were far too many people in one area and even if he were able to chance himself upon Snow White and the others getting through this would be a nightmare! He did sneak his way down to the fabric wares, she really seemed to have liked them last time, perhaps she would have been looking at some new fabrics; but she wasn't there. She didn't go to see any of the jewelers, the game and animal keepers, the magic shows, or even the food stalls. She was nowhere to be found.

Where are you Snow White?

He stopped in the center of it all and just looked above everyone's heads. He was looking for some kind of sign - the carriage, her hair, even if he could hear her laugh; anything would help! His constant burning anger had deceased and turned into a flowing anxiety of torture for his mind.

What if he had been too late?

What if they had taken her already?

What if they had actually killed her?

What if – No!

He shook his head and made his brain stop and tried to allow the noises of the festival to bring him back to reality. Getting caught up in his head would do him or anyone else any favors. No, he just needed to stop and think of where they could have or would have gone if they weren't here at the festival.

"Oi!" A grumpy voice called from behind him and an apple hit the back of his head. He turned and glared down just to see the Dwarves Dopey and Grumpy walking up to him.

"What are you doing here?" He raised an eyebrow down at him. Dopey clung to his leg very happily and smiled broadly up at him. Adam only pet him on the head, as if giving him the approval that it was okay for him to cling to his leg; perhaps he shouldn't do that.

"We're selling gems, parts of our wares." Grumpy spat on the ground and crossed his arms as he glared up at him. "What the heck are you doing here? Shouldn't you be after your princess?"

"I am." Adam's anger quickly returned. "I just. . . can't find her."

"That's probably cause you missed her by a near hour ago." Grumpy harrumphed.

"What?" Adam's head was ready to split with his headache and emotions. It was getting dangerously hot being around all these people and out in the treacherous sun.

"Dopey here ran into the knight." Grumpy pointed to Dopey who no longer clung to Ada's leg and picked up the apple that Grumpy threw. He held it out to Adam, smiling for him to take it from him. He obligingly did and just held on to it. "And we got acquainted with yo're princess."

"My princess?" He really liked the sound of that and felt a flush come over him despite the heat already boring on his head. "You mean, Snow White?"

"Pretty lil' thing." Grumpy's cheeks tinted a soft shade of pink. "She looked awfully sad, though. Must've been cause you ain't saved her yet from whatever horrible evils are awaiting her."

"Did you see where they went?" Adam's eyes widened.

"They went north, towards the mountain, but I don't know after that."

"What?"

"Hey, don't be pinning this on me!" Grumpy shoved his finger into Adam's stomach since he couldn't reach his chest. "You're the one tryin' ta save the damsel in distress, not me! Ya didn't even ask me to drop a message or keep an eye on 'er!"

"How would I have –" He let out a groan of frustration before taking a deep breath. There was nothing Adam could dispute this with because he had no clue Grumpy would have met Snow White, nor had he had an eye for any of the day's events to happen the way they had. Oh how he wished things would just go as he planned. . . "Never mind. I just got to figure out where they could have gone. . ."

He stood and looked around, he'd at least need a horse. There was no way that he would be able to make another trek to the mountain, especially climbing up it. He'd seriously pass out along the way, and that would not only be undignified but also a disgrace as he would not be able to save Snow White. As he scanned the crowds for a horse to borrow, the servant's uniform on a small maid caught his attention. She had a bundle of blankets and was following a few other servants into a wagon that had a wide variety of items for a luxurious picnic. Adam sprinted over to them and the smallest maid looked up at him in absolute surprise.

"P-Prince Adam!" She blinked up at him and turned a shade of pink.

"We met again." He was panting far more than he should have. He was also so tired.

"D-Did you miss the carriage, your highness-s?" She stammered and looked to the others for help; they just sat gaping and watching.

"Y-Yes." Adam nodded and cleared his throat. "Not only did I wake up late, but as a prank the Queen and the others decided to leave me not once, but twice today." Her expression eased and her face was not quite as pink. "Would I be able to ride alongside you all to the picnic?"

"Absolutely not!" A commanding deeper voice of an older gentlemen, a butler, answered as he strode over toe Adam. "Prince Adam, though I feel for you in having been the end of a joke today you simply cannot ride with the servants."

"I must catch up with the others." Adam frowned and could not control the glare nor his hands balling into fists as he looked to the butler.

"Which is why you will have to take a horse, Prince Adam." The butler confirmed. "You shall take Alptraum."

"Oh, sir that's terribly rude of you!" The maid spoke up and her face burned a shade of red. "Alptraum is a mean horse! There's a reason he's called Nightmare! The only one he's even nice to it Princess Snow White -!"

"I'll take him." Adam didn't care what this horse would be like, he needed to get to Snow White. If it was as wild and nightmare-ish as they described then that meant he was a fast horse that would get him to Snow White faster. He even had a little bit of bait since he still, for some odd reason, had the apple that Dopey gave him. Hopefully that would be enough for the horse to coerce him into running. "Where is he?"

"Well, we just brought him, your highness." The butler cleared his throat. "The Queen was most adamant about having him at the picnic."

"Take me to him." Adam commanded. He had wasted far too much of his precious time. He had so much to make up for. God he hoped and for once in his life prayed he was not too late.

"Right then, follow me." He followed the butler to the stables where several of the other servants had ropes and were holding down a solid black horse. Its mane was long and luscious, its hair glistened like silk, and in those black eyes smoldered the stubbornness of the wild that would not be tamable. Of course this was the Queen's horse of choice.

"His background is little to nothing since he's a Altwurttemberg horse." The butler explained with a shrug. "But he's always had a fiery temper and doesn't like anyone."

"One thing we've got in common." Adam huffed and had the apple in hand as he approached. "Tell me, where are the others having the picnic at? I have a feeling once I mount him I'm not going to have a chance to ask again."

"You'll go north, to the mountain, but you'll veer left down to the valleys where the flowers are in the fullest bloom." The butler hesitantly explained as he remained in place. "It's a good left turn, you can't miss is so long as you don't continue up the mountain!"

The horse pulled on the ropes, stomped in the dirt and shook its head violently to get the ropes off. It whinnied as ferociously as it could to intimidate the others, and though it worked on them it would not work on Adam. Though Alptraum's name meant nightmare, Adam had lived and breathed the things that actually made up the innocent's nightmares. A horse's temper tantrum meant nothing to him. As he approached he stood tall, defiant as he locked eyes with the glaring horse. It yelled at him as if to say, "Stay away!"

"I do not have time for this." Adam said a calm tone as he spoke to the horse. "You will calm down and you will take me to the mountains where I will release you back into the wild."

"You'll what?" The butler behind him stammered, but Adam kept his eyes locked with the horses as he still approached and held the apple out as a peace offering. The horse stopped fighting the ropes, but its entire body was tense. Raw muscle ready to burst through the gates as soon as it was released.

"Now be a good animal, and let's go see Snow White." Adam spoke in finality and the horse, much to everyone's surprise, took the apple. It bit Adam's thumb too, but it would do just well enough as a peace offering if it meant getting Snow White. It was unnaturally quiet, the only sound heard outside of the excitement of the festivities was the horse's breathing. Keeping eye contact with the horse Adam entered the stall with the horse, slid to its side, and used the walls to climb up on the horse. Because of his temper tantrum the servants were not able to get a bridle on him, not that that mattered because Adam would be good to his word and would let the horse go. The horse shook under him, ready to bolt or possibly shake him off; Adam squeezed his thighs as tightly as he could just in case he were to be thrown off.

"Open the gates!" Adam commanded and they obeyed. Much to his surprise the horse bolted and did not throw him off.

Without needing much guidance the horse practically flew on the wind it ran so fast to the mountain. It had not been comfortable nor graceful, but all that it meant for Adam was that he would make it to the mountain in a timely manner, and maybe, just maybe, he could actually catch up with Snow White. If Prince Florian got his filthy hands on her, Adam was not sure how much of himself he would actually be able to contain in front of her. He would push those thoughts away for now, he couldn't think that darkly before –

Without so much as a warning Adam was suddenly up in the air and landed on his back. His lungs gasped for air and his back ached terribly as if it had been snapped in half and all Adam could see for a few seconds was black and blue with the bright sun blinding him. He heard a whiny and he quickly rolled to the side just as Alptraum came down and stomped on the earth where Adam had been. It pawed the ground and snorted angrily at him.

"Get out of here!" Adam roared and flung his arms out. "You have fulfilled your duty! Begone!"

And the horse simply stormed off leaving Adam at the crook of a hill that divided into two separate paths, the right being the mountain and the left being the hills that would lead to the valleys. Adam could not help but groan and he sat up and air returned to his lungs. Yeah, he hadn't healed as much as he thought and the heat was beyond unbearable. He should just take off his coat. . . but he'll need it on once he gets to Snow White; the less contact she has with his skin the better for them both. He sat there in the shade for only a few moments more before pushing himself to his feet. He would just have to follow the road around and see where it goes, he would catch up to the others once he got to the end of it. . .

He had not even walked twenty feet before he heard a scream, wild demented laughter, and the stench of darkness with an ominous presence brooded in the forest.

"You can run, Snow White." It was Florian's voice, but there was something darker, almost evil in his voice as it echoed through the forest. "Run as fast as you can! I will find you! And when I do, I'm going to enjoy ripping out your heart!"

"Snow White." His heart hammered in his chest and he ran. He ran and he ran and he ran. He tried to listen out for her, if she screamed or if she were crying. She was probably terrified and crying, but she was smart, she would stay quiet if she were to run away from Florian. He wasn't sure what exactly had transpired within the few hours of his absence but he just knew he had to get to Snow White before Florian did. In his running Adam realized that he was running up a hill, as it was getting steeper and narrower. The path was hardly wide enough to hold him but it was a distinct path that had been walked through over many times a day over many times a year. It was a tiny path that only the Dwarves could have made. He kept running, he would get to her first, he had too! His face had windburn and had been scratched several times in the face by all of the branches; oh how he hated being tall for once in his life!

Suddenly small hooves kicked his face and he went tumbling down the side of the hill and into the watery swamps; again. He nearly choked on the water as he arose and looked up to see a mother boar running wildly through the forest. He cursed the boar and pushed himself to a stand, though it was a bit of a struggle as his clothes were wet again and he was heavy all over again. He had to stop and look and listen. He had never been more lost, never been more desperate, and had never been more wanting in his life before. He had no idea where he was, only that he had to get to Snow White and that he would do anything to get to her. He stood still and just listened to whatever was going on in the forest, if there were any sort of disruptions he would hear it.

"I hear you, Snow White." Florian's laughter echoed again and chilled Adam's blood as he stood. "I'm coming for you!"

In one direction he heard the squealing of a boar and off to the right he heard the splashing of water and gasping for air. Adam ran, doing his best to avoid the squishing spots, to get to her. He was not sure why but he knew that Snow White was in the swamp with him. Wherever Florian was he wasn't near her, but he was still close and more than likely fast approaching. The swamps were wide and vast in the dark woods and only seemed to expand with the lack of sunlight. Suddenly there was coughing and wheezing up ahead and the softest of whimpers.

"Adam." Her voice sounded wounded and strangled. "Adam, where are you?"

He almost called out to her, but he didn't want to draw Florian any closer. He looked all around, on the ground, up in the trees, he just couldn't spot her. All he saw was black water, gray muck, tangled tree roots and rocks and boulders that seemed to trap him in a dead end. He needed to get to Snow White!

"Aw, the wee princess still wants her prince, does she?" A terrible murderous laugh came from Florian just a few feet away and on the other side of the bolder that Adam stood at. He looked up and saw tree roots wrapped around the boulder. He didn't hesitate, he climbed.

Higher!

Faster!

Climb!

He commanded his body to continue forward while his body demanded rest, but he would not allow it. He had to get to Snow White, she was so close! He reached the top! He looked around and could not see anything. Darkness was all around him, the trees above were choking out the sun and only leaving darkness and shadows down below.

"Adam . . ." Her voice was quiet like she had been crying and filled with fear and trembling called out to him from below. Adam tried to study the things down below so as not to jump on her. She was close to the boulder, but he wasn't sure how close.

"Still calling for him?" Florian tutted in such a mean manner. "Hate to break it to you princess, but he's not coming."

Adam heard Florian jump down from whatever ledge he was on and landed in a few puddles from the swamp. He was at least six feet away; Adam could make that. He just needed the right leap. He steadied himself, breathing quietly and focusing his gaze in the darkness for some sort of sign where Florian was. It was then that the dagger he held glinted faintly in the tiniest glimmer of light and Adam knew where to go.

"You know, I was going to enjoy myself with you, show you what it would have been like to have been with me." He smiled like a lunatic. "But I think I'd rather enjoy myself in spite that you still love that fake prince, and that he will never have you."

"P-Please don't." She pleaded quietly.

I'm coming.

"It'll be quick." He laughed. "That I promise you."

"No you don't!" Adam lunged off the boulder and felt something sharp in his side as he collided with Florian. Snow White screamed as he and Florian splashed around in the swampy waters, rolling around grabbing and punching at each other. He didn't care what he was doing so long as he kept Florian away from Snow White. He rolled over where he was on top and punch Florian in the face, hard where he actually stopped moving for a minute. He looked up to see Snow White, ever so beautiful and shining brightly, covered in muck and swamp waters, with bruises on her arms, scratches on her face, and such a pained look as she watched him fight with Florian in horror.

"Snow White, run!" He yelled and something within her snapped and she started running again. "I'll come find you, just get away from here!"

He needed her to run away to get safe, but also to turn away from him and not witness his fight with Florian. She had seen too much already and he did not want to taint her innocent soul by witnessing him kill a man; her undeserving fiancé no less. He kept Florian at bay while he watched her run and hoped he could finish this quickly and catch up to her.

"Looks who's trying to play hero!" Florian laughed and punched Adam in his distraction and send him off to the right. Adam easily recovered and glared at Florian as he stood. Florian had a dagger in his hand and a mad look in his eye. Whatever had happened to Florian he was in a maddened state where only blood would satisfy him. He swung his arm around madly, trying to make some sort of contact with Adam, and much to Adam's dismay he did not have a weapon in which he could deflect Florian. He did however have his natural toxins and nature around him. There was a world of possibilities in the realm of killing and plenty of holes in the swamp to bury the body.

"Oh, are we just going to keep dodging?" Florian mocked him and kept slashing. Adam kept dodging, trying to think of a way out of this.

All he had to do was trip him up and he could turn Florina's blade against himself.

But what would Snow White think of him?

"Come now, Adam, I know you can do better than that!" Florian kicked up swamp water and kicked him back against trees.

All he had to do was trip him up and strangle him in the water, drown him even.

But then he could never touch Snow White again because of a defiled hand.

"Oh, how I wish you could see how worthless you are right now." Florian looked down at him with a pointedly evil glare that made him look uglier than an angler fish. Adam could only glare up at him.

All he had to do was remove his gloves and touch his face and he would die in the cruelest of ways, slowly and drawn out in pain.

How would Snow White be able to look at him again?

He had no reason to deny his wanting to play the hero because he was the best option that Snow White had to save her from her nightmare, but oh how badly had he wanted to play the villain. It was his best role; Afterall, and Florian had had this coming for a long time now. If he let Florian live he would just go crawling back to the Evil Queen and feed her information that she did not need to know about he and Snow White and how he helped her escaped and even fought Florian to let her escape. It would be so easy to kill him, to get rid of the thorn in his side once and for all. . .but the thought of truly never being good enough for Snow White ate at his very soul. He was already undeserving of her, just thinking of her damned him enough. But he wanted to be good, he wanted to be good for her. She accepted too much of him already as it was, but he knew that she could never accept him for killing a man that she knew and was arranged to marry. It would never sit well with her, her affections would change against him. . . Yes playing the villain was tempting, and it would be so easy to do so, but he would never be able to be with Snow White; his chances were already slim enough as it was. No, he would play the role of the hero for her, it was agonizingly hard for him and he had to fight every fiber in his being to do so, but he would do it for her.

"The role of a villain suits you better, Adam." Florian raised his dagger high. "Being a hero has made you weak!"

He brought the dagger down and Adam caught his arm. No, he would not be a villain, but he would use his anger to assist Florian.

"I am not weak." Adam stood, his grip firm though his arm shook as he held Florian in place, the dagger a few inches just away from his skull. "I am not worthless." He shoved Florian back into the swamp and held the dagger tightly in his own hand. "I am a far cry from being a hero, because you have no idea how much I would love to kill you and leave you for the maggots to enjoy." He walked closer to Florian and Florian scooted back, fear painted on his muck covered face. "I am a man who is stronger than you because I know what it is like to play a villain, how easy it is to slip into the evil. I will not go back to that life anymore because I have something to fight for; and that makes me strong."

"All this for a pathetic girl?" Florian spat, shaking in his mud hole.

"All this for the princess of Apfel, the rightful ruler of this country." Adam glared down at Florian. "And for you to not see that is what makes you a fool."

With dagger in hand he slammed the blunt end of it into the side of Florian's head and the fool fell back unconscious into the swamp. Adam stood there, gripping the dagger, using every ounce of self-control to keep from giving into his bloodlust, because oh was it high. He bent down and picked Florian up by the collar and dragged him over to the boulder where he had Snow White pinned in fear. He threw him against the boulder and dropped the dagger in front of him. He could spend a mere few minutes to dispose of the fool's body, but that would have been a waste of time, he had a princess he needed to save. Besides the Queen would have a much more worse punishment waiting for him for his failure, which Adam counted on.

He had not realized he had been panting heavy or how sluggish he felt as his much denied fever made him sway where he stood. He placed his hand on the boulder and his other went to his head as he regained his footing and tried to stable himself. He didn't have the time to be sick, he didn't have the time to rest, he needed to go after Snow White before she got into anymore trouble. He pushed himself from the boulder and forced himself to job in the same direction that Snow White had gone in early.

"Snow White!" He called as loudly as he could, panting heavily as his lungs screamed for air.

Was she all right?

"Snow White!" He called again, hearing his voice echo in the forest. "Where are you?"

Had she made it out safely?

"Snow White!" He forced himself to run faster, his exhaustion demanding he stop, but his anxiety for her lack of response pushing himself forward.

Was she injured?

"Snow White!" All he could see around him was darkness, he hadn't realized it but the sun was going down so the already dark forest only grew darker.

Was she still alive? How long had he been fighting?

He came out to a small clearing, still in the swamps and now the frogs were croaking their songs and the insects were coming out. He stood still, his heart drumming in his ears as he strained them to listen for her, for any sound she would make. He could hear all of nature trying to mask her in its darkness, but he wouldn't allow her to be trapped in the dark, not when she had a light that shined so brightly. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, he needed to hear her.

Amidst all the croaking, the splashing of turtle, the creaking of the trees in the blowing wind, the faintest sound of crying was just off to the right. He opened his eyes and looked to the right, he couldn't see her, but he could definitely hear her.

"Snow White?" He called softly, to make sure the forest wasn't playing tricks on him. Quietly and carefully he approached the sound as it got louder, more distressed even. How his heart ached at the thought of her sobbing. Large tangled bramble bushes blocked his way, but he pushed past them as he got closer to the sound.

"Snow White –" He called as he pushed himself through and finally came to a clearing. There, in the midst of darkness she found her. The yellow was resting in the smallest amount of light the forest's branches allowed. She was curled up in a ball, her face in her hands sobbing as she leaned up against a tree trying to somehow hide. He could see her trembling and he dared not be loud as he approached her. He didn't want to spook her anymore than what she already was. No, quietly and slowly he approached her not making a sound as he stepped over branched and mud holes. Once he was a few feet in front of her, he knelt and tried to peer into her face through her hands.

"Snow White?" He said softly and she jerked so violently she nearly jumped up the tree. Those doe brown eyes were full of fear, almost feral like as she was ready to run. Her chest heaved quickly as she breathed heavily, anxiously.

"A-A-Adam?" Her voice cracked as she blinked at him. "I-Is that really you-u?"

"Yes, my darling." He held his arms out for her, inviting her into the safety of his arms. "It's me."

"Adam!" She lunged herself at him and he enveloped her into a strong hug. Oh how she clung so tightly to him, scared to let go. Oh how he clung to her, scared to ever let go of her again. Oh how it felt to have her in his arms again, to hold her safe, to keep her there. She trembled in his embrace and sobbed in his chest, he merely pressed her to him, willingly ready to fight her fears away. His knee shook as it gave out on him and he fell back on his behind, but he merely scooped her up into his lap and held her. She was there, he had her. She was his again and safe in her arms. With his hand resting on her head he rested his cheek on his hand as he rocked her, shushing her.

"Are you hurt?" He asked softly in her ear, gently patting her back while keeping her head pressed to his chest.

"Y-Yes." She nodded and clung to him tighter.

"Oh, my Snow White." His anger flared at that, but his heart ached and felt heavy at that. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

She pulled back, he allowed her to, but held her still in his arms. Her hands till trembling rested on his shoulders and her tear stained face which broke his heart searched his eyes for answers.

"W-Why?" Her voice wobbled with a sniffle. "Why did you leave me?"

"Never." He shook his head and his hands went to her cheeks, holding her there so she could only look at him. "Never would I leave you, my darling, Snow White. I went to prepare a place for you, to keep you safe. But the storm got so bad, when morning came I –"

"Prepared a place?" Her brow furrowed in confusion. Her tears more or less stopped, but her sniffling would not. How he wished he had a handkerchief for her, if he did it would be filthy.

"Yes." He used his thumbs to wipe under her eyes, ever so carefully so as not to actually touch her eyes. "I had to go prepare a place for you to hide in. It just took me longer than I thought it would. . ."

"I though. . ." More tears and finally a smile came through on her face as she looked at him, utter relief echoing in her eyes. Her small hands went to his large ones and he felt his own relief come to him. "I thought that y-you hated-d me – "

"Never." He shook his head as he held her gaze, but she didn't stop.

"A-A-And that you were never coming back." Her hands gripped his and she laughed slightly, almost ashamedly.

"I would never leave you, my Snow White." He shushed her and allowed his thumb to run over her lips. Oh how he wanted to press his lips to hers to calm her; but he still couldn't. "I'm so sorry I was late. I should have -"

"You came." A light shined in her eyes as she smiled so brightly. "That's all that matters."

She leaned her head into his right hand and kissed the palm of his left. A new flame, of one that he was hardly familiar with, warmed his heart and eased the aching that was there. She kept her eyes locked on his and slowly leaned closer. The flame in his heart burned as she got closer, but was quickly snuffed out as a pained look came across her face and she fell on his shoulder.

"Too soon." She groaned and held her side. "My ribs . . ."

Not really needing any explanation Adam gently scooped her up in his arms and carried her like the princess she was. She was surprised, but said nothing in argument as Adam held her firmly against his chest as he made his way to the Dwarves cottage.

"You're really warm. . ." She said quietly, her head resting on his shoulder. "You're radiating quite a lot of heat."

"Been warm all day." He admitted. Only now that it was brought up again and his adrenaline rush for blood lust was gone he was feeling it. Despite wearing three layers of clothes his skin had chilly goosebumps, his muscles ached, his body felt heavy, and all he wanted to do was sleep off the migraine that had replaced his headache. "It's fine though. We're almost there. . ."

She was a far cry from heavy and almost seemed to be lighter than the last time he had carried her; this concerned him greatly but he didn't want to push her. He didn't truly want to ask her about Florian and what happened because he already knew that the Evil Queen had put him up to it and he was just following suit with the permission she had given him. He wished he would have simply gotten rid of the fool early so none of this would have happened!

"H-He tried to kill me." She spoke up, her voice sounding cracked and not at all like her. "He was really going to kill me. . ."

"I wouldn't have let him." Adam's grip was gently but firm on her as he held her tighter. "I would not have let him kill you. I regret that I wasn't there sooner to prevent any damage from happening to you at all. . ."

His guilt fueled his shame and fueled his anguish for being weak and actually listening to the Grumpy Dwarf instead of moving forward. Had he just left when he said and planned to none of this would have happened. Yes he might have gotten sick, but Snow White never would have been hurt and would have already been in the safety of the Dwarves' cottage. He had to get stronger. There was a terrible storm brewing in the castle of Apfel and he had to get stronger, or Snow White could very well be killed. Now that he was no longer in the castle, he had no idea what to do next, where to go, or even how to act. He just knew that he needed to get her to the Dwarves' cottage and pray she stay out of the Queen's radar so he could get a handle on things

"Adam. . ." She spoke softly. Her voice shook, as though she were scared to speak. He felt her hand tighten on his shoulder. "Can I. . . Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." He nodded as he ducked under some of the low hanging branches.

"Were you hired to kill me?" He froze in his tracks. He could not conceal the shock that was evident on his face and could only stare down at her. She would not look at him, and that drove him crazy.

"What?"

"I heard, you and the Queen. That day in the library . . ." She was blinking back tears. "W-Were you r-really going to k-kill me?"

He wanted to bite off his tongue, he wanted to drop her off to safety immediately and throw himself down the side of the mountain. His heart felt as though it had been stabbed and his breathing suddenly hitched, he found it very difficult to breathe.

"Y-Yes." His own voice shook as he forced himself to look ahead. "Yes I was hired to kill you."

"B-By the Queen?" She pressed.

"By the Queen." He nodded.

"So, we're not cousins?" Her voice was so quiet, like something within her shattered.

"No. . ." It was a very complicated thing to answer since his own origins meant that he was truly not related to anyone but was a slave to a cruel master. "No, we're not related in any sense or form of relatives."

"Was everything you told me a lie then?"

"No, not all of it." He paused and debated on setting her down in case she wanted to walk, to be away from him. "The Queen, in a very round about sense raised me, though I'm not really her child. So I know what it is like to suffer her wrath when things did not exactly go her way."

Her tiny hand tightened on his shoulder, gripping the fabrics of his coat and she knew she was trying to hold onto something, anything, that would give her gravity in a shattered reality. Ever so gently he set her down on a log that was on dry land and gave her a moment to herself. He could see that she was fighting back tears as well as fighting his gaze. She would not look at him and it hurt so much so see.

"Were you going to kill me?" This question was a whisper but it might as well have been a scream in Adam's ears.

"I couldn't." His mouth was dry, and he felt as though he had swallowed cotton. "I was supposed to, but I just. . . I just couldn't."

"Why?" Oh how he hated the pain in her voice; oh how he hated that three letter word! He had been asking himself 'why' from the moment he stepped foot in this Realm! He was supposed to kill her, every fiber in his being knew that, yet as he got to know her, understood her, helped her even, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He enjoyed his time with her, in fact, they were the best moments of his own miserable life! He wasn't sure whether it was his fever finally getting the better of him or his own emotions, but as he stood there holding her his entire body began to shake.

"I don't know if I can tell you, honestly. . ." He answered, hoping she would satiated with that; but she wasn't.

"Why not?" She demanded for the first time in anger, or perhaps it was anguish.

"Because it isn't good for you to hear. . ." He was scared to answer now. For once in his life he was actually willing to listen to his heart and not his brain to reason out things, to not be practical, to actually live in a moment. A moment that would free him of all the bonds around his heart but also would endanger her life further. "Please do not persist –"

"I will persist!" She raised her voice standing and finally looked at him. Those doe brown eyes showed that she was trying to be strong but he knew she felt so weak. "Why couldn't you kill me, Adam?"

She was right in front of him, looking up at him, covered in dirt and muck and everything else terrible, and he couldn't look away from her she was both fiery and beautiful. His eyes burned as an unfamiliar sensation of wanting to cry washed over him as he took a small step forward. She didn't budge and only seemed to ground herself further in her determination to get an answer from him. He wanted to reach out and hold her again, but he felt especially undeserving to do so.

"Because, you never did anything wrong." Now his voice was barely a whisper and she looked so surprised. "From the day I met you you showed me nothing but kindness and have always been honest with me on everything. I looked for any fault you could have made, anything that would have given me an excuse to do so. But I just couldn't, I wouldn't. I won't." His hand balled into a fist at his side and a war of emotions played in her doe brown eyes. "I would never hurt you, Snow White, let alone kill you."

"You've had plenty of chances to kill me without a reason, Adam." Her face fell, kindness replacing the hardness in her face. "Prince Florian, who I never expected to truly be the way he was, was ready to kill me because I told him I couldn't love him . . ."

"You . . . you told him that?" His heart was suddenly drumming in his ears, it was literal music to his ears and made his heart far too happy. He did not deserve to be happy, especially not now when she knew what he was supposed to do. Yet he just could help but feel both relieved and just so happy to hear that she did not have any affections towards the fool; or if she did they are no longer there.

"He tried to tell me I could love him in time." Her doe brown eyes looked so sad. "I – I even tried to imagine it, and though I think I more than likely would have come to love him out of the duty of being a wife, I don't think that I would ever have truly loved him, nor would I have been happy." Her right hand went to her ribs again while her left one fidgeted with her skirts. It pained him to see her in pain and he would have done anything to take away her pain or endure it for her. He knew pain very well and he could handle it, he would take all the pain in the world so long as it meant she never had to suffer from it.

"You deserve someone who will make you happy, Snow White." He spoke gently to her and dared to take a half step forward. "You should never settle for anything or anyone else whenever it comes to your own happiness. I truly wish you would be just a little more selfish when it came to your own happiness."

"I haven't been unhappy." She argued with a half forced smile that fell quickly. "It's just that making others happy is so much easier, simpler even. I feel happy once I've made others happy. I feel as though I would have been a rotten person if I allowed myself to be selfish in finding my own happiness."

"You could never be rotten, my dear, Snow White." He dared to touch her and gently tucked a stray curl behind her ear. She did not flinch away from him, but instead stared at him, eyes watching him carefully. "You're far too sweet and far too kind to ever be rotten."

Even covered in mud and muck he found her alluring, and those red lips that were smiling at him, that porcelain face that blushed at him, and those doe brown eyes shining with something he hardly understood drew him to her. Oh how those red lips tempted him. . . His hand went to her head and the other to her shoulder and he pulled her to him in a firm but gentle hug. She almost seemed to melt into him as her thin arms wrapped around him and returned the embrace. He wanted to convey his wishes of her happiness, that he would guarantee her happiness, that he would do anything and everything within his own power to provide that happiness; that would allow himself to happy.

"A-Adam." She croaked out a gasp as her hands tightly grabbed his coat. "Y-you're hugging me. . . just a little. . . too tightly."

He released her and saw that she was still wincing in pain.

"I'm sorry." He internally scolded himself for not being rational and taking her straight to the Dwarves' cottage. He had been too caught up in the moment that he forgot that she had gotten hurt. He was an idiot. "Come here, I'll carry you the rest of the way."

"B-But you're hurt!" She tried to argue and Adam decided to not listen to her and scooped her up in his arms again, being careful not to jostle her.

"You're far worse than I am." He chided her and refused to let her go. "It is a man's duty to bear the pain in order to protect the woman. I have already failed you once in that regard, I will not fail a second time."

"Please don't say that." Her little hand went to his cheek and turned his head to look at her. "You haven't failed me."

"You would not have been injured or harmed in any sort of way had I been there when I was supposed to." He argued, his anger scolding himself for not being better. "I failed to protect you – "

"It was out of your control." Her eyes were so serious, so sincere and those doe brown eyes simply captivated him. Those red lips tempted him again. "You came for me, that's all that matters. If it is forgiveness that you're looking for just consider yourself forgiven."

"I can't. I failed - ." He closed his eyes to the temptation and gently turned his face away from her. Her hand forced him to look at her again. She was so beautiful and captivating. . .

"I have already forgiven you." Her other hand reached for his face and held it there so he had no choice but to look at her. "Isn't it time you did a little of the forgiving?"

The sincerity in her eyes was so raw and passionate that it touched his heart and made it tender. He felt weak yet strong at the same time and for once in his life actually wanted to forgive himself of some of his crimes. . .

"The things you do to me. . ." He whispered and closed his eyes, forcing himself to gain control of himself again. If he were to look into those doe brown eyes any longer, he was not sure what control he would have left; he barely had any to begin with her.

"What things?" Her own voice was a whisper and sent a shiver through Adam. A new heat roared within him and he needed to get her to the Dwarves cottage quickly. Adam's hand reached up and gently removed her hands from his face; his skin immediately missed her touch the moment it was removed. He had to though or else he would do something he wouldn't be able to take back and would regret if he harmed her.

"I need to get you to the cottage." He spoke in finality, more to himself to remind himself of his mission and purpose and all of the threats and dangers at hand. "Just rest. No more questions."

Without another glance at her beautiful face to keep himself strong, he set his eyes forward and began to climb through the swamp, up the valleys, and deeper into the mountains until he was able to finally come across the Dwarves' walking paths. She was actually good and remained quiet for the rest of the way, but he could feel her gaze burning a hole through him. He could tell she had more questions that she wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure if he were truly ready to answer any of them. He was very grateful that she was behaving and allowing him to go into an autopilot mode to get her to her safety. She rested her head on his shoulder, her hand holding the other, and just held on like a sleepy child that felt safe.

When he finally got to the surface of the mountains again and free of the Dark Forest, the air seemed to return to his lungs and he could breath easier as the Dwarves' cottage was within sight. He had done his best to keep it at a regular pace but his breath had been very ragged with the climb up the mountain. His fever had decided to kick in again, and he had decided that he was go into ignore it until he got her to safety. The sun was already setting and the sky was growing darker soon. It was in a safer part of the forest and was still tucked away enough behind the trees where it was difficult to find if he hadn't already known where it was. It still allowed enough sunlight into the home but was well hidden in the trees to remain out of sight from unwanted visitors; though the Dark Forest did an excellent job of keeping unwanted visitors away.

"Is that where I'll be staying?" She perked up as they approached the cottage.

"Yes." He nodded. "I have some acquaintances here that have agreed to let you stay here until things are finally settled and safe for you to be at the castle again."

"Will it be too long?" Her voice was quiet and just as unsure as he felt.

"Not if that fool of a prince actually goes home as he was scheduled to." He grit his teeth at the mere mention of the fool. "Though I can't say for how long it will be necessary while the Queen still reigns."

She said nothing more as they approached the house. He stooped down under the low hanging branches and set her down as soon as he felt they were both close enough and safe enough out of sight. She walked up to the cottage very curiously looking excited at all of the details and the tininess of the cottage.

"It's so small." She commented and stood at her full height. "Even for me and how short I am I can tell that it's small. Do children live here?"

"No." He snorted a laugh. "But Dwarves do."

"You're friends with the Dwarves?" She whirled around and her skirt twirled around her as she did.

"I'm acquainted with them." He admitted with a nod. The motion suddenly made him dizzy and he reached a hand out to the walls of the cottage for support. "Though I do thing 'friends' is stretching it a bit."

"Adam, are you all right?" She rushed over to him a she held his head in his hand.

"Fine." His entire body was trembling as he used the cottage to support his weight. "You should get inside before it gets dark. They'll be home soon and I'd rather you rest up before they get back."

He pushed himself off the cottage and to the door and was surprised that it was unlocked; then again they lived miles away from society in the mountains so it should not have surprised him. He had to stoop as he stood in the foyer, and even Snow White had to as well. Much to his chagrin they had not cleaned the place up since his visit last night and it was terribly filthy. He walked in the living room and sat against a wall and enjoyed how cool the wooden floors felt. Snow White joined him at his side and looked around.

"You said Dwarves live here?" She whispered, just in case someone was there to overhear.

"Seven of them." He nodded and was glad that the house was dark, it eased his headache and the cool floors felt amazing. He closed his eyes and felt his body demanding rest.

"Seven?" She blinked in surprise. "Well that explains a few things. . ."

"I'll make sure they clean up this evening." He rested the back of his head on the wall and slouched a bit. "They'll be here shortly, so you should rest up."

"I think you should be the one to rest. . ." She argued softly and placed her hand on his forehead. Her hand was cool and it felt nice; but he could be sweating and she didn't need to touch him if he were. "You're burning up."

"I'm fine." He shook his head and grabbed her hand and held it in his hand. "You need to rest. I know you didn't sleep. You've got circles. . . under your eyes."

"Shall we rest together then?" She proposed as she scooted closer to him. He heard her wince as soon as she did though. He peeked his eyes open and saw she was grimacing and holding her side. He gently tugged on her hand and she looked at him with a pained smile.

"Come here." He said softly, urging her. She did as she was told and it must have been the fever that compelled him to do it because he situated her in his lap where she would be leaning away from her bruising ribs instead of on them. Her head rested on his left shoulder and her legs were on the right of him, his arms held her in place by her head and her knees. He sighed in relief as her coolness eased his heat a smidge.

"I-Is this all right?" She whispered as her hand rested on his chest. He wasn't entirely aware to notice if she were comfortable or not, and in his fever he was more selfish than he normally would allow himself to be. He wanted her close for more than one reason, but if she were there in his arms he knew he could keep her close and keep her safe. He also really liked the way she fit inside of him and he really liked holding her.

"For this moment, yes." He leaned his head on his hand and embraced how cool she felt. "Just until they arrive. . . please. . . just stay like this for this moment."

He knew he should be allowing himself this moment of happiness, especially not after her gaining the truth and knowledge of his previous intentions. But he could not help but enjoy the fact that she was there with him, far away from the castle, finally safe and sound and in his arms no less where he could protect her best. He would blame the fever for his actions, then again he should more than likely thank the fever too for without it he would never have dared to do this.

"A-Adam. . ." Her voice was quiet, but he listened to the sweetness of it.

"Hm?" He couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. His body was finally relaxing despite the fever, and he felt the greatest relief of having her there with him.

"May I ask a question?"

". . .No. . ." He hummed. He wasn't as conscious as he would like and he was not able to censor his answers if she asked too deep of a question. "I said no more questions. . ."

"Just one?" She pleaded, her little fingers on her little hand traced a circle over his breast pocket. "I promise I'll rest after I just ask the one."

"Only one?" His brow furrowed.

"Just one." There was a quiet giggle in her voice.

"Hm?" He grunted as his brain argued with his body to stay awake.

"Why. . ." She hesitated and her hand stopped making circles on his chest. He wanted her to continue that.

"Hm?"

"Never mind . . ." She shook her head. "It's silly. . ."

"Go ahead." He urged her in his sleepiness.

"No. . . I'm scared to hear the answer."

Adam inhaled as he sat up and looked down at her. She had her face turned into his chest, trying to hide from him. His right hand moved from her knee and gently brushed her cheek, coercing her to look up. He kept nudging and rubbing her cheek until she peeked one eye at him.

"Don't do that. . ." He tried to study her face, but he was so tired he couldn't properly read her. "Don't hide your face from me. . . I don't like that. . ." She looked at him and the deepest pink tinted her cheeks and even her ears. It only deepened as he traced his own circle on her cheek with his finger. "You don't have to be scared. . . I'm not going to hurt you. . ."

"Oh dear heavens. . ." Her face turned red and she seemed to be holding her breath. He was worried that he might actually be scaring her by looking at her, so he settled back on the wall and held her again, pressing his cheek to his hand on the top of her head and enjoying the way she smelled. She didn't smell like anything from the swamp.

"Adam?" She tried again.

"Hm?" He hummed as sleep threatened to take him again.

"Why did you say you wouldn't kill me?"

"Because I can't." He said sleepily. His mind was desperately trying to remain awake and terribly failing. Between the exhaustion and the fever he was much more vulnerable than he liked and he was far too willing to tell her whatever it she wanted.

"Why?"

"Because. . ." Even as tired a he was he was scared to tell her anything. He was scared how she would react. He was scared to know what it would be like if it were out in the open. He would be exposed, something could break between them if it hasn't already with her new knowledge.

"Because why?" She pressed and he didn't want to fight any more. He was glad his eyes were closed because he more than likely would not have been able to put up a fight in his state.

"You already. . . already asked a question. . ." He fought weakly and clung to her tighter.

"But you didn't answer it. . ."

"Because I can't. . ." His mind screamed at him to fall asleep while his heart told him to tell her the truth. When would he ever get this chance again? He almost prayed he wouldn't get this chance again; almost. "You're too special to me; you're the most special person in all the Realms to me. . . If I said much more I fear I would ruin you. . ."

"'The most special person'?" She gasped quietly.

"Please, my darling. . ." He shushed her as he felt himself nodding off more. "Please . . . just be patient until things are safe before I tell you anything else more. . ."

"I will try." She sounded so happy at that. "I will really, really try. . . But Adam?"

"Hm?" His body grew heavy, his mind was getting fuzzy, he could hardly hear what she was saying.

"You're the most special person to me. . ." She whispered. "I hope you know that. . ."

"Mmmmm. . ." He wished he could hear what she was saying.

"Adam. . ." He felt something soft brush against his ear and her voice was the only thing he could hear. "I – I love you."

* * *

_ Author's Note:_

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far!

This was actually a very difficult chapter to write. I had at least three other ideas that I had in mind for this particular series of events, but the story dictated this particular route. I hope that these recent chapter haven't been too long for you. In the current time in which I have been writing this (which is before my wedding) I have been rather stressed and haven't had much time to write, but it has been therapeutic for me to write again. I've enjoyed writing this story thus far and am just as excited to see the end of it with you.

In case I don't publish this at the exact time and week that I have scheduled, my wedding will be September 5, 2020 and the honeymoon will follow suit after. So if during the week of September 7 there is no updates, please bear with me and be patient because I assure you that I am still writing, I would also just like to enjoy a little time to myself as well.

I would also like to thank everyone who has sent me messages and left me reviews of your thoughts, given me suggestions, and asked me questions. It warms my heart greatly to see them and be able to communicate with you either one on one or publicly through here. It has been a great encouragement to me to receive all sorts of feedback and it has been very helpful to me. Please continue to write reviews and send me feedback.

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-six

FLORIAN

When he finally woke up all Florian could see was darkness. He jolted and jumped at every sound, especially when his hand touched the cold metal of the dagger. He dropped it, not realizing what it was, before picking it up and looking all around him. He was totally and utterly lost. What made things worse was not only had he gotten himself lost in his frantic and maniac crazed chase to kill Snow White; Snow White had gotten away; which meant he had not carved out her heart due to Adam's interruption. The box within his satchel felt heavy, like a terrible deadweight that practically weighed in his doom. The Queen would surely have him killed!

"No, no, no!" He hissed and stood up. "Surely they couldn't have gone too far –"

Looking all round there was no actual chance he could have known where they went because of the swampy waters. He could see the boulder where he originally had her pinned, so he knew he needed to go the opposite way to meet up with the Queen; but he could not show up empty handed. She had not insisted on what should happen if he were to fail to get her heart, but he has heard enough stories from the staff to know better than to cross her. It didn't even matter that he was the Prince of Franca, she would kill him simply because she could and come up with some frivolous excuse that it was an accident; what's worse is that she would get away with it as well. Even if war did branch out, she would only enjoy the spoils and splendor of it anyways.

"Think, Florian think!" He ran his hands through his hair, desperately hoping something would come to him. He had relied on luck to seriously get him this far; he simply could not have run out of that luck yet! He was too young to be out of luck!

"Prince Florian." The droning voice of the dreaded Mirror made his blood run cold. "Prince Florian."

"M-Mirror." He smiled as he pulled his compact out of his pocket. "H-How good to see you!"

"You look ghastly." The Mirror turned its nose up at him. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." He nodded too quickly; his head really hurt when he did that. "Yes, of course."

"Are you by chance on the way?" The Mirror seemed disinterested by Prince Florian's haggard appearance. "The Queen is getting rather agitated and she has already started to eat without you."

"Ah, I see." He gulped and swamp water filled his mouth.

"You are on your way, aren't you?" It raised its eyebrow up at him. "I can hardly see you, are you still in the Dark Forest?"

"Y-Yes." He nodded and felt relieved that the Mirror couldn't quite see him. "I-I just finished the job and I've got the box right here." He patted his satchel.

"Yes, very good." The Mirror did not seem impressed nor convinced. "Do hurry and make it to the Queen sooner rather than later. She seems to have had enough of nature for the day."

"O-Of course." He felt as though he had swallowed sand his throat was so dry. "I-I'll be on my way."

He quickly closed the compact mirror and jumped to his feet. He paced in the swamp and ran his fingers through his hair. What was he going to do? He just told the Mirror, who would be telling the Queen, that he was on his way!

"I'm dead!" His heart quickened and he kept running his hands through his hair, hoping that his brain would think of something. "Think Florian, think!"

Suddenly he heard the squealing of pigs in the distant He had already faced a boar this evening, it the corpse was still there he could take that! Pigs heart are about the same size as a human, right? It would have to do; he didn't have another option. Snow White had gone somewhere with Adam and there was no telling where they were or how far they went. The pig's heart would do, and for all that Florian cared it would fit for Snow White. She was a sow for running off with Adam, she would regret the day of choosing Adam over him.

He went to the swampy cliffs that he jumped off of previously to get to Snow White and used the tangled tree roots to assist him in his climbing. A newfound anger boiled within him as he determined to gut out the pig's heart. He was furious that he had to use a pig heart instead of Snow White's heart. He was furious that he let Snow White get away before he could have his way with her. He was furious that she chose Adam over himself. What he loathed entirely beyond all belief that made him see red again was the fact that Adam intercepted his plans and got in the way again.

The first time that Adam had intervened or intercepted him was his first day upon arriving in Apfel. He wasn't sure how he did it, but he hid the scullery maid away from him and refused to tell him where she was.

The second time had been at a meal where he was trying to have conversation with her, and Adam snatched her attention away from himself. Not long after that Adam tried to warn Florian to stay away from Snow White else he would regret it. No, the only thing he regretted was not trying to fight him then and there!

Every time after that Adam successfully managed to keep her away from him, hiding her behind him, stepping in between them in their conversations, and just flat out embarrassing him in front of everyone. Adam would rue the day he got in the way of what Florian wanted! He would make it so, and should he fail to he would convince the Queen to do something about it!

In his marching back through the hills he found the dead boar, the insects had yet to get to it. He crouched beside it and raised his dagger high.

"Just you wait, Adam." He plunged the dagger into the side of the boar and gruesomely cut deeply into it, not even caring that blood was splattering onto his face. "I will make sure that you will pay for your crimes against me."

* * *

GRIMHILDE

Hours had passed and the sun only grew hotter and the food less enjoyable, especially since Frederick refused to look at her and kept his eyes trained on the forests and valleys. Up at the top of the hill where they sat they could see Florian and Snow White frolicking in the flowers. She merely rolled her eyes and continued to drink her wine from her goblet and eat her mead and sandwiches. Coming out to this atrocious field was just a ruse to get Snow White quicker to her grave. From the valley of flowers if one wandered off too far within the forest they would end up in the Dark Forest where there are hardly any survivors who come back. Among the darkness lies quicksand spots, wild rabies infested animals, and swamp lands that provide the perfect burial grounds for bothersome princesses.

This was practically too perfect. Snow white had easily agreed to go pick flowers, even with Florian going with her, and Adam was nowhere in sight and Frederick was even anxious which meant he had no idea where Adam was either. She could only hope that he decided to go back to his time and leave hers alone so she could play with it as she liked.

Much to her happiness she watched Snow White dash into the forests and Florian was right behind her. This would end quicker than she thought. A grin slid on to her face as she sipped her goblet again.

"Finding something amusing, your highness?" Frederick asked without looking at her. She saw that his eyes were desperately searching after Snow White.

"Oh, just enjoying the lovely spring day." She waved her goblet around to the expanse of the fields. "How could I not find it beautiful? Especially when two young lovers are frolicking about in it?"

"What lovers?" She could see his jaw clench. "I see a hyena chasing after a lamb."

"Oh please, Frederick, don't be so dramatic." She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Hyenas are down in Egypt."

"He looks like a laughing maniacal animal to me either way." Frederick still would not look at her.

"If that is how you see him, it makes me wonder how you see me." She cocked an eyebrow at him, challenging him to truly say something.

"You should not ask that of me not, your highness." He said flatly. "I fear it would be nothing flattering or anything that is truly fitting of you; then again it very well could be."

She could only stare at him, not even glare at him, in pure shock at his words. He would not look at her still and his hostility towards her only seemed to grow. She clenched her teeth and finally glared at him.

"If that is how you want to play this, then so be it." She took back the rest of her goblet and stood. "Servants, pack it up, I've tired for the day and I wish to return to the castle."

The servants that had brought out the food and were still currently unloading looked back at her in utter shock. It was finally at this moment that Frederick looked at her, not in surprise, but that of utter horror.

"But both the prince and princess are down there." He looked as though he were holding his breath.

"Yes, I think it would do them well to have a little fun unchaperoned for a bit." She smiled at him, finally seeing that she got him. "I'll be sure to leave Prince Florian's horse here, he will need it to get back to the castle."

She walked past him and towards the carriage, a smile of triumph rising to her face. She could almost laugh at Frederick for his antics. If he were to act this way towards her then she would show him who he was dealing with; besides this way it made it easier for Florian to kill Snow White without that many witnesses. A servant opened the door and she sat inside, glad for the shade but not particularly happy for the humidity.

"Drive on." She commanded as soon as she situated herself in a comfortable riding position. She would have at least an hour from here back to the castle.

She would grin and bear it though; she would not tolerate Frederick's coldness towards her. It irritated her that he was acting that way, though if she were listening to that quiet voice of childish girlhood she always drowned out she would not blame him for his actions because she really did deserve it. She would never admit that though, whether it be pride or the fear that drove her down this path she could not decide. She was too far down this road to truly turn back now. Between a commitment she made to the Mirror and the choices she so willingly decided upon to get to this point, it was too late for her.

She could not help but feel as though she should have made Frederick colder to her sooner; she tired to push him away, but he always came back. It would have been much easier had he left her back when she sent him miles away from her, she would have healed, and he would have had a better life. No, his stupid loyal self just had to come back to her because he felt he had a duty to her form all those years ago where he felt he failed her. She could not help but wonder if he was beginning to finally regret being with her. Oh, he had greatly spoiled her for all these years, but was it truly worth it?

Was it worth it to make their bond tighter just for them to turn cold to each other, to be so mean to each other, to finally point daggers at each other's throats? Better yet, had everything she done to make things so severely terrible between them truly worth it? Would at the end of all of this, would killing Snow White truly be worth it? Just to be titled "The Fairest of Them All", was that really worth it? Would no longer being in Frederick's eye, or even his heart truly worth it?

An unfamiliar feeling of regret and anxiety, and possibly guilt, pitted itself in her stomach and she balled her hand in a fist as she detested the feeling. She had to remind herself that this was the path she chose, she had already come this far and played this committedly to it. She hated, truly hated, the thought and reality of losing Frederick. But as the saying goes if you let something you love go it'll come back to you if it's truly meant to be, and she needed to be much more serious in letting him go because her current actions and choices would make him a cruel person if she decided to keep him here. If there were one among them to be cruel it was better for it to be she than he.

Her eyes burned, her heart ached, and she pinched her fingers to maintain her composure. Yes, this was he last choice she could make in which she could make things right; just one last time she wanted to make things right between them. She would let him go and banish him from this place so that he could no longer return to her; whether they were meant to be or not.

The castle came into view and she hated seeing it, it just showed her that things would finally have to come to an end. She sat up straighter and smoothed over her skirts. She would not cry, she would not shake, she would stand tall and be the Queen she was, even if she was the Evil Queen.

The carriage lurched to a stop, her door was opened, and Frederick was there waiting for her to escort her. His face was stoic and stony and his eyes just seemed to glare at the crown, as if it was his last attempt to not look at her. She only paused to look at him, for a final moment to see his face his handsome face even when it was stony. He helped her down the steps and he led the way while she followed him. She had never quite realized how broad his shoulders were, she had clawed or held them several times in her bed chamber, but she hadn't quite realized just how broad they were in his uniform. She noticed that his hair had gotten long, though it was still short and close to his head it was longer than what he preferred; she was surprised he hadn't cut it yet. She clenched her hands together, pinching her skin with her nails so she would stop noticing so many things she was going to miss.

He opened the doors to the foyer, her steps felt heavy as they echoed off the floors and walls. He still hadn't said anything to her and she was secretly glad of that. She did not want him spiking up a fight and changing her attitude when she was trying to use the last remaining kindness she possessed to send him away. She did not want to be angry.

He opened the door to the throne room and she walked ahead of him. She walked along the floors, slowly, and tried to quiet her heavy footsteps. Before she ascended the small stairs to the throne she stopped. She knew he was close behind her, probably glaring at her or even her crown now. With her back to him she straightened her back, pushed her shoulders back and stood as tall as she dared relying solely on her backbone and determination to get the words from her throat. Her throat felt dry.

"Is something wrong, your highness?" He spoke softly and though there was concern there it was outweighed by anger.

"Yes." She gulped and refused to allow her voice to wobble. "Yes there is."

"Oh?"

"You. . . are the problem." She spoke slowly and took a deep breath and intertwined her fingers together. She made sure her nails dug into her skin.

"I don't see how, your. highness." Ah, there was the sharpness. She dug her nails in a little deeper.

"Yes, you are the problem, Frederick." His name stung her heart. "It has come to my attention that you no longer wish to be my ally."

"I'm afraid, I don't understand, your highness. . ." He sounded truly confused. He was probably very taken aback by her words, and though she wanted to see the face he was making she couldn't. If turned around and saw his face now she would lose her resolve and she would torture him by making him stay here longer. Her heart raced, racing against the ticking clocks that seemed to be all around her, and made her brain sit in a haze.

He was silent, patiently waiting for her to continue, and tension instantly grew in the room. It felt as thick as the darkness she played in. It weighed a heavy burden on her heart to the point it was becoming difficult to breathe.

"I know that you have been loyal to me for several years." She continued as he did not argue nor make comment. "I have been very grateful for your years of service and loyalty to me, but as they say 'all good things must come to an end'. . ." She swallowed hard and found her lungs fighting for air. "So, all good things between us have come to an end and it is time to let you go, Knight Frederick."

The tension only grew thicker and the burden upon her heart became heavier.

"What are you saying, your highness?" She couldn't gauge what he was feeling as he asked that. He could always tell what she was feeling when she was feeling it, but ever since they came to Apfel she lost that ability. He claims it is because of the blood bond between them, though it has never been as strong for her as it was for him.

"I thank you for serving the Kingdom of Apfel well, Knight Frederick, but it is time that you retire and leave this place." She had to force the words to come out evenly. Her brain currently had the control, but her heart fought for it. "Perhaps you could visit Franca, or any other place in the world. Wherever you decide to go, I hope you go in peace and can find happiness there."

"What are you –" It was faint, but she could feel the smallest hum of desperation in him.

"I let you go, Frederick." Her eyes felt hot and she stared at the ceiling to prevent them from burning. "I no longer require your service and therefore let you go. I have no more need of you and your services, so I let you go."

Something within her snapped, a string that had been strong for many a years finally snapped. Her heart felt it the worst and it almost shook her, almost. She heard him gasp for air and his feet stumble on the floor. Oh how badly her eyes burned.

"What have you done?" He whispered, panting heavily.

"I let you go Frederick." She said flatly, refusing to touch her heart and give it the reins now. Her heart screamed in anguish against her. "Your place is no longer beside me and I no longer want you here. . . You are officially dismissed from your duties."

"What?"

"You are to gather your things and to be gone by morning." She spoke quickly, her eyes burned and her knees shook. "You are to leave the entire Kingdom of Apfel and never return."

"Your highness –" She heard him trying to approach her.

"I said you are to leave!" She raised her voice. It was much more shrill than she meant it but it stopped him. She could feel his eyes boring holes in her back.

"My Queen." Her heart screamed in her chest at those words. It had barely been a day since he called her that, being referred to as 'your highness' by him was too foreign; yet this was too familiar. "Surely you don't mean –"

"You are dismissed, Sir Knight Frederick." She tried to make it more formal, but she felt as though she sounded more desperate. "I have broken things between us. You have no more attachment to me or this place."

"Hilde!" That was much more familiar and yet just as foreign to her as she felt she was no longer that person. The name no longer clearly registered with her. It went away as soon as she broke the bond between them; it broke the girl who loved him dearly within her.

"No!" She nearly screeched, though it could have been her heart screaming at her stubbornness and determination now. The tears which were so foreign to her burned in her eyes as they wanted to clear away the years of dust in her eyes. "I am Queen Grimhilde of Apfel. I am no longer your Queen. You are nothing to me. Leave this place. At once!"

The tension was snuffed out like a candle and left the smoldering smoke to waft between them. Her hands were shaking from putting so much pressure on them and her eyes burned as the dams were breaking. She would not be able to hold this position of the Queen for much longer.

Please leave.

Please, please leave.

Let me be kind to you and only you one last time. . .

She closed her eyes so that the tears would not fall. Even with her eyes closed her eyes burned greatly. And much to her relief she heard footsteps walking away from her. The doors to the throne room opened, the footsteps walked out, and closed, not harshly or angrily but solidly behind them. She still could not look behind her and used her shaking knees to walk towards the throne. One step, two step three, now she could sit on the throne as the Evil Queen and her beloved Knight was set free.

She eased herself into the throne. It was cold and silent and chilling, just as she would make herself to be now that her sun had finally been sent away. She sat with her back straight against the chair, her head held high rested there too and she could see she was alone. The room around her was dark, just like the magic she played in, and she was alone, truly alone, as she should have been from the very beginning. Her heart cried within her and she only allowed a single one tear to slide down her cheek. That single tear was the only one she would shed for her love, because no matter how much she wanted to keep them she could not move forward with regret. Now that she let him go she no longer had any regrets.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

So, what did you think? Was this chapter as emotional for you to read as it was for me to write? I hope so. I had to walk away a few times to write this one. I argued with the Story a great bit on this chapter because this was not how I wanted this to go; well, at least not yet. I originally planned to have this a little later on, however, I think by then (as the Story and I have discussed) it would be a little to late and I don't think it would have had the same effect. We're very close to the end now so even though my publishing chapters might be slow, things are about to get rolling really quickly (I hope anyways).

Again I just want to say thank you to everyone who leaves reviews and send me messages and I ask that you continue to do so. I also want to say thank you for sticking with me for this far. I was not anticipating my chapters reaching this far, though I'm not complaining, and I have been pleasantly surprised that so many of you have wanted to read this many chapters. It is a serious encouragement to me and I thank you for it.

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter

p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"FLORIAN/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"When he finally woke up all Florian could see was darkness. He jolted and jumped at every sound, especially when his hand touched the cold metal of the dagger. He dropped it, not realizing what it was, before picking it up and looking all around him. He was totally and utterly lost. What made things worse was not only had he gotten himself lost in his frantic and maniac crazed chase to kill Snow White; Snow White had gotten away; which meant he had not carved out her heart due to Adam's interruption. The box within his satchel felt heavy, like a terrible deadweight that practically weighed in his doom. The Queen would surely have him killed!/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""No, no, no!" He hissed and stood up. "Surely they couldn't have gone too far –"/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"Looking all round there was no actual chance he could have known where they went because of the swampy waters. He could see the boulder where he originally had her pinned, so he knew he needed to go the opposite way to meet up with the Queen; but he could span style="font-style: italic;"not/span show up empty handed. She had not insisted on what should happen if he were to fail to get her heart, but he has heard enough stories from the staff to know better than to cross her. It didn't even matter that he was the Prince of Franca, she would kill him simply because she could and come up with some frivolous excuse that it was an accident; what's worse is that she would get away with it as well. Even if war did branch out, she would only enjoy the spoils and splendor of it anyways./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Think, Florian think!" He ran his hands through his hair, desperately hoping something would come to him. He had relied on luck to seriously get him this far; he simply could not have run out of that luck yet! He was too young to be out of luck!/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Prince Florian." The droning voice of the dreaded Mirror made his blood run cold. "Prince Florian."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""M-Mirror." He smiled as he pulled his compact out of his pocket. "H-How good to see you!"/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""You look ghastly." The Mirror turned its nose up at him. "Are you all right?"/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Yes." He nodded too quickly; his head really hurt when he did that. "Yes, of course."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Are you by chance on the way?" The Mirror seemed disinterested by Prince Florian's haggard appearance. "The Queen is getting rather agitated and she has already started to eat without you."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Ah, I see." He gulped and swamp water filled his mouth./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""You are on your way, aren't you?" It raised its eyebrow up at him. "I can hardly see you, are you still in the Dark Forest?"/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Y-Yes." He nodded and felt relieved that the Mirror couldn't quite see him. "I-I just finished the job and I've got the box right here." He patted his satchel./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Yes, very good." The Mirror did not seem impressed nor convinced. "Do hurry and make it to the Queen sooner rather than later. She seems to have had enough of nature for the day."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""O-Of course." He felt as though he had swallowed sand his throat was so dry. "I-I'll be on my way."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"He quickly closed the compact mirror and jumped to his feet. He paced in the swamp and ran his fingers through his hair. What was he going to do? He just told the Mirror, who would be telling the Queen, that he was on his way!/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""I'm dead!" His heart quickened and he kept running his hands through his hair, hoping that his brain would think of something. "Think Florian, think!"/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"Suddenly he heard the squealing of pigs in the distant He had already faced a boar this evening, it the corpse was still there he could take that! Pigs heart are about the same size as a human, right? It would have to do; he didn't have another option. Snow White had gone somewhere with Adam and there was no telling where they were or how far they went. The pig's heart would do, and for all that Florian cared it would fit for Snow White. She was a sow for running off with Adam, she would regret the day of choosing Adam over him./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"He went to the swampy cliffs that he jumped off of previously to get to Snow White and used the tangled tree roots to assist him in his climbing. A newfound anger boiled within him as he determined to gut out the pig's heart. He was furious that he had to use a pig heart instead of Snow White's heart. He was furious that he let Snow White get away before he could have his way with her. He was furious that she chose Adam over himself. What he loathed entirely beyond all belief that made him see red again was the fact that Adam intercepted his plans and got in the way again./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"The first time that Adam had intervened or intercepted him was his first day upon arriving in Apfel. He wasn't sure how he did it, but he hid the scullery maid away from him and refused to tell him where she was./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"The second time had been at a meal where he was trying to have conversation with her, and Adam snatched her attention away from himself. Not long after that Adam tried to warn Florian to stay away from Snow White else he would regret it. No, the only thing he regretted was not trying to fight him then and there!/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"Every time after that Adam successfully managed to keep her away from him, hiding her behind him, stepping in between them in their conversations, and just flat out embarrassing him in front of everyone. Adam would rue the day he got in the way of what Florian wanted! He would make it so, and should he fail to he would convince the Queen to do something about it!/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"In his marching back through the hills he found the dead boar, the insects had yet to get to it. He crouched beside it and raised his dagger high./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Just you wait, Adam." He plunged the dagger into the side of the boar and gruesomely cut deeply into it, not even caring that blood was splattering onto his face. "I will make sure that you will pay for your crimes against me."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"GRIMHILDE/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"Hours had passed and the sun only grew hotter and the food less enjoyable, especially since Frederick refused to look at her and kept his eyes trained on the forests and valleys. Up at the top of the hill where they sat they could see Florian and Snow White frolicking in the flowers. She merely rolled her eyes and continued to drink her wine from her goblet and eat her mead and sandwiches. Coming out to this atrocious field was just a ruse to get Snow White quicker to her grave. From the valley of flowers if one wandered off too far within the forest they would end up in the Dark Forest where there are hardly any survivors who come back. Among the darkness lies quicksand spots, wild rabies infested animals, and swamp lands that provide the perfect burial grounds for bothersome princesses./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"This was practically too perfect. Snow white had easily agreed to go pick flowers, even with Florian going with her, and Adam was nowhere in sight and Frederick was even anxious which meant he had no idea where Adam was either. She could only hope that he decided to go back to his time and leave hers alone so she could play with it as she liked./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"Much to her happiness she watched Snow White dash into the forests and Florian was right behind her. This would end quicker than she thought. A grin slid on to her face as she sipped her goblet again./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Finding something amusing, your highness?" Frederick asked without looking at her. She saw that his eyes were desperately searching after Snow White./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Oh, just enjoying the lovely spring day." She waved her goblet around to the expanse of the fields. "How could I not find it beautiful? Especially when two young lovers are frolicking about in it?"/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""What lovers?" She could see his jaw clench. "I see a hyena chasing after a lamb."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Oh please, Frederick, don't be so dramatic." She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Hyenas are down in Egypt."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""He looks like a laughing maniacal animal to me either way." Frederick still would not look at her./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""If that is how you see him, it makes me wonder how you see me." She cocked an eyebrow at him, challenging him to truly say something./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""You should not ask that of me not, your highness." He said flatly. "I fear it would be nothing flattering or anything that is truly fitting of you; then again it very well could be."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"She could only stare at him, not even glare at him, in pure shock at his words. He would not look at her still and his hostility towards her only seemed to grow. She clenched her teeth and finally glared at him./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""If that is how you want to play this, then so be it." She took back the rest of her goblet and stood. "Servants, pack it up, I've tired for the day and I wish to return to the castle."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"The servants that had brought out the food and were still currently unloading looked back at her in utter shock. It was finally at this moment that Frederick looked at her, not in surprise, but that of utter horror./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""But both the prince and princess are down there." He looked as though he were holding his breath./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Yes, I think it would do them well to have a little fun unchaperoned for a bit." She smiled at him, finally seeing that she got him. "I'll be sure to leave Prince Florian's horse here, he will need it to get back to the castle."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"She walked past him and towards the carriage, a smile of triumph rising to her face. She could almost laugh at Frederick for his antics. If he were to act this way towards her then she would show him who he was dealing with; besides this way it made it easier for Florian to kill Snow White without that many witnesses. A servant opened the door and she sat inside, glad for the shade but not particularly happy for the humidity./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Drive on." She commanded as soon as she situated herself in a comfortable riding position. She would have at least an hour from here back to the castle./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"She would grin and bear it though; she would not tolerate Frederick's coldness towards her. It irritated her that he was acting that way, though if she were listening to that quiet voice of childish girlhood she always drowned out she would not blame him for his actions because she really did deserve it. She would never admit that though, whether it be pride or the fear that drove her down this path she could not decide. She was too far down this road to truly turn back now. Between a commitment she made to the Mirror and the choices she so willingly decided upon to get to this point, it was too late for her./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"She could not help but feel as though she should have made Frederick colder to her sooner; she tired to push him away, but he always came back. It would have been much easier had he left her back when she sent him miles away from her, she would have healed, and he would have had a better life. No, his stupid loyal self just had to come back to her because he felt he had a duty to her form all those years ago where he felt he failed her. She could not help but wonder if he was beginning to finally regret being with her. Oh, he had greatly spoiled her for all these years, but was it truly worth it?/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"Was it worth it to make their bond tighter just for them to turn cold to each other, to be so mean to each other, to finally point daggers at each other's throats? Better yet, had everything she done to make things so severely terrible between them truly worth it? Would at the end of all of this, would killing Snow White truly be worth it? Just to be titled "The Fairest of Them All", was that really worth it? Would no longer being in Frederick's eye, or even his heart truly worth it?/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"An unfamiliar feeling of regret and anxiety, and possibly guilt, pitted itself in her stomach and she balled her hand in a fist as she detested the feeling. She had to remind herself that this was the path she chose, she had already come this far and played this committedly to it. She hated, truly hated, the thought and reality of losing Frederick. But as the saying goes if you let something you love go it'll come back to you if it's truly meant to be, and she needed to be much more serious in letting him go because her current actions and choices would make him a cruel person if she decided to keep him here. If there were one among them to be cruel it was better for it to be she than he./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"Her eyes burned, her heart ached, and she pinched her fingers to maintain her composure. Yes, this was he last choice she could make in which she could make things right; just one last time she wanted to make things right between them. She would let him go and banish him from this place so that he could no longer return to her; whether they were meant to be or not./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"The castle came into view and she hated seeing it, it just showed her that things would finally have to come to an end. She sat up straighter and smoothed over her skirts. She would not cry, she would not shake, she would stand tall and be the Queen she was, even if she was the Evil Queen./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"The carriage lurched to a stop, her door was opened, and Frederick was there waiting for her to escort her. His face was stoic and stony and his eyes just seemed to glare at the crown, as if it was his last attempt to not look at her. She only paused to look at him, for a final moment to see his face his handsome face even when it was stony. He helped her down the steps and he led the way while she followed him. She had never quite realized how broad his shoulders were, she had clawed or held them several times in her bed chamber, but she hadn't quite realized just how broad they were in his uniform. She noticed that his hair had gotten long, though it was still short and close to his head it was longer than what he preferred; she was surprised he hadn't cut it yet. She clenched her hands together, pinching her skin with her nails so she would stop noticing so many things she was going to miss./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"He opened the doors to the foyer, her steps felt heavy as they echoed off the floors and walls. He still hadn't said anything to her and she was secretly glad of that. She did not want him spiking up a fight and changing her attitude when she was trying to use the last remaining kindness she possessed to send him away. She did not want to be angry./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"He opened the door to the throne room and she walked ahead of him. She walked along the floors, slowly, and tried to quiet her heavy footsteps. Before she ascended the small stairs to the throne she stopped. She knew he was close behind her, probably glaring at her or even her crown now. With her back to him she straightened her back, pushed her shoulders back and stood as tall as she dared relying solely on her backbone and determination to get the words from her throat. Her throat felt dry./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Is something wrong, your highness?" He spoke softly and though there was concern there it was outweighed by anger./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Yes." She gulped and refused to allow her voice to wobble. "Yes there is."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Oh?"/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""You. . . are the problem." She spoke slowly and took a deep breath and intertwined her fingers together. She made sure her nails dug into her skin./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""I don't see how, your. highness." Ah, there was the sharpness. She dug her nails in a little deeper./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Yes, you are the problem, Frederick." His name stung her heart. "It has come to my attention that you no longer wish to be my ally."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""I'm afraid, I don't understand, your highness. . ." He sounded truly confused. He was probably very taken aback by her words, and though she wanted to see the face he was making she couldn't. If turned around and saw his face now she would lose her resolve and she would torture him by making him stay here longer. Her heart raced, racing against the ticking clocks that seemed to be all around her, and made her brain sit in a haze./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"He was silent, patiently waiting for her to continue, and tension instantly grew in the room. It felt as thick as the darkness she played in. It weighed a heavy burden on her heart to the point it was becoming difficult to breathe./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""I know that you have been loyal to me for several years." She continued as he did not argue nor make comment. "I have been very grateful for your years of service and loyalty to me, but as they say 'all good things must come to an end'. . ." She swallowed hard and found her lungs fighting for air. "So, all good things between us have come to an end and it is time to let you go, Knight Frederick."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"The tension only grew thicker and the burden upon her heart became heavier./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""What are you saying, your highness?" She couldn't gauge what he was feeling as he asked that. He could always tell what she was feeling when she was feeling it, but ever since they came to Apfel she lost that ability. He claims it is because of the blood bond between them, though it has never been as strong for her as it was for him./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""I thank you for serving the Kingdom of Apfel well, Knight Frederick, but it is time that you retire and leave this place." She had to force the words to come out evenly. Her brain currently had the control, but her heart fought for it. "Perhaps you could visit Franca, or any other place in the world. Wherever you decide to go, I hope you go in peace and can find happiness there."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""What are you –" It was faint, but she could feel the smallest hum of desperation in him./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""I let you go, Frederick." Her eyes felt hot and she stared at the ceiling to prevent them from burning. "I no longer require your service and therefore let you go. I have no more need of you and your services, so I let you go."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"Something within her snapped, a string that had been strong for many a years finally snapped. Her heart felt it the worst and it almost shook her, almost. She heard him gasp for air and his feet stumble on the floor. Oh how badly her eyes burned./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""What have you done?" He whispered, panting heavily./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""I let you go Frederick." She said flatly, refusing to touch her heart and give it the reins now. Her heart screamed in anguish against her. "Your place is no longer beside me and I no longer want you here. . . You are officially dismissed from your duties."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""What?"/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""You are to gather your things and to be gone by morning." She spoke quickly, her eyes burned and her knees shook. "You are to leave the entire Kingdom of Apfel and never return."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Your highness –" She heard him trying to approach her./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""I said you are to leave!" She raised her voice. It was much more shrill than she meant it but it stopped him. She could feel his eyes boring holes in her back./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""My Queen." Her heart screamed in her chest at those words. It had barely been a day since he called her that, being referred to as 'your highness' by him was too foreign; yet this was too familiar. "Surely you don't mean –"/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""You are dismissed, Sir Knight Frederick." She tried to make it more formal, but she felt as though she sounded more desperate. "I have broken things between us. You have no more attachment to me or this place."/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""Hilde!" That was much more familiar and yet just as foreign to her as she felt she was no longer that person. The name no longer clearly registered with her. It went away as soon as she broke the bond between them; it broke the girl who loved him dearly within her./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;""No!" She nearly screeched, though it could have been her heart screaming at her stubbornness and determination now. The tears which were so foreign to her burned in her eyes as they wanted to clear away the years of dust in her eyes. "I am Queen Grimhilde of Apfel. I am no longer span style="font-style: italic;"your/span Queen. You are nothing to me. Leave this place. At once!"/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"The tension was snuffed out like a candle and left the smoldering smoke to waft between them. Her hands were shaking from putting so much pressure on them and her eyes burned as the dams were breaking. She would not be able to hold this position of the Queen for much longer./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"span style="font-style: italic;"Please leave./span/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"span style="font-style: italic;"Please, please leave./span/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"span style="font-style: italic;"Let me be kind to you and only you one last time. . ./span/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"She closed her eyes so that the tears would not fall. Even with her eyes closed her eyes burned greatly. And much to her relief she heard footsteps walking away from her. The doors to the throne room opened, the footsteps walked out, and closed, not harshly or angrily but solidly behind them. She still could not look behind her and used her shaking knees to walk towards the throne. One step, two step three, now she could sit on the throne as the Evil Queen and her beloved Knight was set free./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"She eased herself into the throne. It was cold and silent and chilling, just as she would make herself to be now that her sun had finally been sent away. She sat with her back straight against the chair, her head held high rested there too and she could see she was alone. The room around her was dark, just like the magic she played in, and she was alone, truly alone, as she should have been from the very beginning. Her heart cried within her and she only allowed a single one tear to slide down her cheek. That single tear was the only one she would shed for her love, because no matter how much she wanted to keep them she could not move forward with regret. Now that she let him go she no longer had any regrets./p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"span style="font-style: italic;"Author's Note:/span/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"span style="font-style: italic;"Thank you so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!/span/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"span style="font-style: italic;"So, what did you think? Was this chapter as emotional for you to read as it was for me to write? I hope so. I had to walk away a few times to write this one. I argued with the Story a great bit on this chapter because this was not how I wanted this to go; well, at least not yet. I originally planned to have this a little later on, however, I think by then (as the Story and I have discussed) it would be a little to late and I don't think it would have had the same effect. We're very close to the end now so even though my publishing chapters might be slow, things are about to get rolling really quickly (I hope anyways)./span/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"span style="font-style: italic;"Again I just want to say thank you to everyone who leaves reviews and send me messages and I ask that you continue to do so. I also want to say thank you for sticking with me for this far. I was not anticipating my chapters reaching this far, though I'm not complaining, and I have been pleasantly surprised that so many of you have wanted to read this many chapters. It is a serious encouragement to me and I thank you for it./span/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"span style="font-style: italic;"Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!/span/p  
p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8pt; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"span style="font-style: italic;"Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;" /p  
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	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-seven

GRIMHILDE

After dismissing Frederick her heart argued with her mind to go and bring him back, but her mind kept her on her throne. So long as she remained there she would not be tempted to go and bring him back. Hours passed and the sun finally went down and a servant dared to enter its head into her throne room.

"Y-Your H-highness." He stammered at the door. He hid halfway behind it as though it would shield him from her.

"What is it?" She was terribly tired and did not want to put up with anything at the moment.

"I-I have come to tell you that Prince Florian has returned a-and that Knight Frederick has left the castle." He fidgeted at the door.

"Good." She pushed herself to a stand. "Tell Prince Florian to meet me, he'll know where."

"Yes, your highness." He disappeared behind the door and she rolled her eyes at the cowering fool before she too left the throne room.

She continued down her halls and passageways that would take her to her lair in the dungeons. She felt numb from sitting in that chair for so long, or perhaps she was numb for finally giving him up. Whatever the reason was she was numb, and she felt as though the rest of this process would be much easier.

The cauldron was still simmering and she could feel the storm building overhead. Yes, this long ongoing project could finally be complete and there would be one more thing that she could be free from. He walked over to her grimoire and studied over the recipe again.

After letting the recipe simmer, raise the heat and add these ingredients:

The hair of someone handsome

3 Sprigs of rosemary for remembrance

2 tablespoons of chopped and ground holly for spirit calling

A pinch of cypress, for longevity

And the sprinkling of shredded yarrow root to make him a relative

Stir these with a wooden spoon until the spoon has burned into the mixture. Toss in the remaining handle of the wooden spoon so that it will make the bones.

As lightning dances in the sky over this spell, add three drops of the Blood of a Witch and drop the Pure Heart of a Lover into the cauldron.

Once lightning has struck the cauldron leave the lid on and the spell will erupt when it has been completed; if done correctly.

"Erupt?" She raised her eyebrow at that little detail in the recipe. "How odd."

Footsteps coming down the stairs made her turn and she was relieved to see Florian. It meant that something was finally going her way. His clothes were terribly filthy and he had a terrible smell about him. He looked odd, to say the lease, or perhaps uneasy. Very odd indeed. He held the box tucked under his arm and the bloody dagger in his hand.

"Ah, Florian." She threw on a smile. "I see you brought it." She pointed to the box and his eyes widened a bit.

He handed the box and dagger over to her and avoided her eye contact, like a child who has done something wrong. Perhaps he was feeling guilty for killing the girl; into that she cared since she got what she wanted. The box had a good weight to it, still fresh and healthy, hearty even.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" She decided to dismiss it. The poor fool was all talk and didn't seem to have much action behind him. If this was actually his first kill then it wasn't too surprising if he were actually shaken up over it.

"Oh, y-yes, of course." He threw on a smile and a quick mask of confidence, but she could see that he was nervous.

"Good." She smiled and turned back to the cauldron. "I cannot express to you how good it is to know that I have finally been ridden of that wretched girl. And I owe thee a great thanks, Prince Florian of Franca; though it would be sad news to know that your little fiancé is gone."

"Not really." The darkness of jealous anger returned to his face. "She hardly like me, nor I her. There would have been no future together even if I had decided to let her live."

"Oh, I highly doubt that." She snorted as she placed the box in line with the other ingredients that she would be adding quickly. "If you had let her live and actually taken her to Franca you would have been sorely disappointed."

"Why is that?"

"She would not have been able to produce an heir for you." She shrugged as she lined everything up. "Not that really would have mattered since I'm sure you would have had a mistress or two under you, just incase things in the bedroom got boring."

"Why wouldn't she have been able to give me an heir?" He pressed quietly.

"Oh, I had that taken care of a long time ago." She turned and looked to him with a smirk. "I hired some men to rough her up a bit and ensure that she would never be able to have children."

"You what?" He looked at her wide eyed.

"She was becoming a nuisance in my life as soon as she hit puberty." She explained coolly. "She was gaining the attentions of men throughout the castle and even in the town. It was only a matter of time before she started to gain the attentions of princes. I couldn't have her gaining popularity over me. So I hired some vagabond miscreants to handle it. They acclaimed to have been failed doctors on account of tests they've done in the past that have gone horribly wrong. How could I not hire them on spot?"

"What did they do to her?" His voice grew weaker and Grimhilde could not help but glare at that.

"One man was skilled with a knife while the other was skilled in brutality, Prince Florian." She spoke ever so slowly so she would not have to elaborate further. "They did a procedure in which she would not be able to have any children in the future. Need I go further?"

His eyes were wide and he paled greatly as he shook his head at her. He looked as though he were going to be sick. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her grimoire. Night was drawing near and she did not have the time to deal with his antics.

"Go be useful and fill that bucket with water." She pointed behind her to the corner. "There's a stream if you go further down below that you can fill it up with."

He quietly moved behind her and disappeared down into the darker depths of the dungeons. She added wood to the fire below the cauldron and removed the lid so that she could start adding ingredients. Thunder rolled overhead and she could not help but smile in her excitement. She was finally going to create this stupid body for the Mirror. She was finally going to be free of him.

She picked up the vial of hairs that she had gathered from Frederick's brush and hesitated a moment as she looked at it. She was adding traces of him to this recipe, would it alter it much? She didn't have time to think on that, however, because the cauldron had begun to bubble. The hair fell in easily and left no trace of scent in the air.

She continued to add the remaining ingredients - 3 Sprigs of rosemary for remembrance, 2 tablespoons of chopped and ground holly for spirit calling, A pinch of cypress, for longevity, and the sprinkling of shredded yarrow root to make him a relative – the recipe now left a forest and woodsy smell. Her thoughts immediately went to Frederick and she hoped that this body did not look like him. Thunder boomed and lightning crackled in the sky to remind her what she was doing.

She refused to allow her thoughts to linger and picked up the wooden spoon and began to stir. It resisted at first, but soon spiraled clockwise before engulfing the spoon into its mixture. She felt as though the spoon had been turning far too easily and when she pulled the spoon out it had all been eaten away save the handle in her hand. She tossed it in and watched the mixture eat it. The mixture began to glow a vibrant green and pulsated a strange light as the ingredients combined became activated.

She watched it bubble and brew before she turned to the table for the dagger and box. She opened the box and was so happy to see the bloody organ sitting there waiting to be added to this evil concoction. She picked up the dagger and a pungent smell lingered there. She studied it for a moment and could only see the dried blood on it and nothing else. Perhaps it was something that Snow White had eaten, or perhaps hadn't eaten that made her blood smell terrible. Regardless the recipe needed to be finished, even if it did smell of pigs.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Florian standing there, gaping horrifically at the glowing light from the cauldron. She wanted to laugh at his shock. His gaze went from the cauldron to her and his eyes widened and his mouth fell open as she waved the dagger at him with a smirk and carried the heart in her left hand. It was still warm and squishy and smelled just as terrible as the dagger. Was that normal? She had never made it this far in the recipe before something terrible happened or the spell became a complete bust. She could not afford another slip.

She returned to the cauldron and raised her left hand high. She sliced her forearm and counted the drops that fell in and watched the mixture swallow it hungrily. The storm above her crackled and caused her hair to stand on end.

Yes, this is it!

She dropped the heart into the mixture and watched it go from glowing green to black. Her smile fell as she could not remember reading if it were to change colors once the heart had been added. She could not shake the foreboding feeling that something was wrong. Before anything else could be done, however, the lightning struck down into the cauldron and over illuminated the room to the point she would have gone blind had she stared for much longer. She had been knocked back and held her hands over her face. A blazing heat consumed the room for a mere few moments before leaving the room and leaving sparkling white in the mixture. It was energized and the mixture was licking the sides of the cauldron, trying to escape. She quickly scrabbled for the lid of the cauldron and slammed it over the growing spell and heard a scream as it sealed itself shut.

She staggered back and watched the spell continue to grow and she realized the fire had not been put out.

"The water!" She demanded from the trembling Florian. He stood in the doorway, knees knocking, lips quivering, and eyes nearly bulging as if he had never seen magic casted before. She darted to the idiotic prince, snatched the bucket from him and dumped the water onto the fire. The fire hissed as if died and another scream came from the cauldron. All she could do was stare at the pot in anticipation for the spell to 'erupt', as the recipe had called for.

She waited.

Nothing happened.

She waited.

Nothing happened.

She waited.

Still, nothing happened. She wasn't sure how long she was supposed to wait, but nothing had happened. How much time was supposed to pass? Surely not this long. Surely something would happen, she couldn't have failed again. . .She slowly approached the cauldron, wanting to lift the lid to see what was happening within it when the walls shook with a loud crack and boom.

"What have you done!" The Mirror boomed in a voice that challenged the storm above them. Florian fell to the floor and in a puddle of urine.

"What you have asked!" She yelled back at him.

"You stupid witch!" He roared and the ground shook. "Do you even know what you have done?"

"I followed your instructions!"

"the heart!" He roared, his usual green mask changing a fiery orangish red. "The heart was not correct! It wasn't the Pure Heart of a Lover!"

"What?" She turned and looked to Florian who sat in horror as he looked at her. "You!" She launched herself at him and he tried to scramble away. "What did you do!" She shrieked as she tackled him to the ground.

"J'ai fait ce que tu lui as demandé!" He held his shaking hands over his face. "I did as you asked!"

"LIES!" The Mirror growled from behind. "THE BOY LIES!"

"What did you do?" She had him pinned down by straddling him and held him down by the collar of his shirt. "What did you do!" She shook him and the prince began to cry.

"I-I-I-I—I-I-." He stammered like a fool and began to cry uncontrollably. Nostrils flaring and fury rising she raised her hand and slapped him, her nails scratching him. He cried out in pain.

"Stop your hysterics and tell me what you have done!" She demanded and continued to shake him, but he only continued to cry and ramble in Francan.

"The heart was not the heart of Snow White." The Mirror answered his voice as deep as the angry thunder above.

"What?" She looked over her shoulder, her grip on Prince Florian was firm.

"The heart was not the heart of Snow White." The Mirror repeated. "It was the heart of a wild sow."

"You gave me the heart of a pig!" She screeched as she turned all her anger against him. She did not hold back and hit and scratched him as much as her temper would allow. A wail of anger, anguish, and utter frustration escaped her. She sounded like a wild animal herself. "How dare you!" She shrieked and her hands wrapped around his neck.

He gasped for air and swatted at the ground like a fish out of water. Yes, this look of panic, this look of fear, this look of desperation of wanting life that screamed in his eyes was what she loved to see. Just as she was about add more pressure to finish the job as his punishment for this betrayal when she heard a boom from the cauldron and black foam seeped out from under the lid. She released Florian momentarily and stood; even the Mirror was quiet.

Finally released Prince Florian took his chance to slither away and run out of the dungeons. Grimhilde had a half a mind to use dark magic against him, using the shadows to take him away and cause terrible nightmares or even simply allow them to eat him; however, the sudden eruption from the cauldron was indeed a more pressing matter. More and more foam bubbled and seeped from the cauldron.

"Mirror." Grimhilde called. "What is happening?"

"I have no idea, My Queen." The Mirror studied the cauldron. "The spell should have been a failure. This should not be happening."

Her blood went cold and she held her breath as she waited and watched for something to happen. For once in her life she was afraid of what she had done and questioned if she should have done it or not. A terrible stink wafted in the air then suddenly turned sickeningly sweet. Even the shadows around her quaked in fear as this ominous spell continued to conjure itself into existence. The bubbles grew large and frothy and shook the ground to the point of causing an earthquake before suddenly stopping and going quiet and deathly still. She almost stepped forward when the lid of the cauldron shot off, nearly missing her and taking her crown off her head, and a green light shined ominously from the cauldron. She and the Mirror waited and watched. The light disappeared and a form began to rise. It started off as just a simple mass, but as it rose and the black-ish green spell matter began to slide off a man took shape and form. It rose until the Queen could see his feet and he with one long leg and one long step stepped out of the cauldron and looked to the Queen.

The spell matter was still sliding off him and before her stood an exact replica of Adam. His hair was just as black, his physique was the same broad shoulder, narrow hips, and long legs with finely detailed muscles from head to toe, he even had the same ghostly white complexion! The only difference were his eyes. His eyes were Frederick's eyes. That enchanting bottle green eyes that had a terrible way of luring her in and wanting to change. The Adam replica stood in full naked glory staring at the Queen, rather expectantly.

"What is this?" She asked aloud, hoping the Mirror would provide her an answer. When the Mirror did not speak and seemed to be just as silent as she, she took a step towards her creation and walked in a circle around it. His green eyes followed her but remained standing still.

"What are you?" She had a hand on her hip and the other on her chin as she fully examined him. He could pass for a human. She stood in front of him, waiting expectantly in front of it. He opened his mouth to speak and the terrible shrill of a squealing escaped his mouth. Her hands flew to her ears and she turned to the Mirror.

"What is the meaning of this?" The green-eyed Adam finally closed his mouth. "I thought you said this spell was a failure!"

"I did." The Mirror grimaced as he too studied the green-eyed Adam. "I still think it is a failure for that terrible sound to come out of it. You should scrap it now and start again."

"I don't have that time nor the resources!" She put her hand to her head and the other on her hip as a headache began to grow. "It would take me several months to prepare a second one! I wouldn't even know where to get the Pure Heart of a Lover now that Snow White has completely vanished."

"Be that as it may, creating a silent puppet over a squealing pig minion would be much better." He glared at the green-eyed Adam in the room. "I don't know how it will even be useful to you now. I don't even know what it is even capable of. This is something that should never have been created, not even by accident. You should destroy it."

"Now, now, Mirror." The Queen tutted as a plan began to form. "I know this is not the body that you wanted – "

"If it were just a body it would be fine." The Mirror argued. "It is the face that is an abomination that makes it so detestable!"

"Still." The Queen held her hand up and it silenced the Mirror. "If this is a minion nonetheless, why not use it to gather ingredients and start again? Why destroy it when it could be useful?"

"You sound as though you have gone mad, My Queen." The Mirror's mouth formed a hard line as he looked down upon the Queen.

"I've been dabbling in the Dark Arts long enough to have gone mad." She rolled her eyes and dismissed the comment. "I shall at least test it out for his capabilities and if he proves himself unworthy, then I shall destroy him."

"You think he will be capable to gather ingredients?" The Mirror scoffed.

"In time, yes." She smiled. "However, there is a prince who has greatly betrayed me that needs to learn a great lesson. He needs to be made an example of."

"Are you sure that is truly wise, My Queen?" The Mirror frowned deeply and caused wrinkled in his brow. "You would risk a war with Franca to simply test out a failed creation?"

"Well, why not?" She laughed already loving the idea of it. "If it's along the roadside and it is a person who is not known to any man, why can't the Prince of Franca be killed on the roadside by bandits? Surely that's justifiable enough to prevent war?"

She turned back to the green-eyed Adam and looked at him thoughtfully. "Now my Grünes Versagen, what shall I call you?"

He stared down at her blankly, not even looking curiously at her. He just blinked as he waited for her to either say or do something.

"Versagen is almost too harsh, though you are considered a failure." She murmured as she studied him. "And Grünes is tad too obvious. . . Though I suppose it's better than nothing. I shall call you Grünes."

He blinked not seeming not have registered that she had just bestowed a name upon him, though his eyes were very focused on her. Her lip twitched wanting to frown, but it was too soon for that.

"Come, Grünes, we need to get you some clothes." She turned to the Mirror.

"You're really going through with his, My Queen?" The Mirror looked hesitant.

"Yes, yes I shall. Since I no longer have allies, making them will work just fine." She smirked with a nod. "Who knows, if this goes so well, I might have to make another for myself in addition to your body."

She made a gesture with her head to have Grünes follow her and very surprisingly he obediently followed. This was going to prove very useful if he was a mindless tool.

"As you wish, My Queen." He sighed as he watched her leave. "I just hope you don't live to regret it. . ."

"Why, Mirror." She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "You make it sound as though I regret the decisions I make."

"Not outwardly, My Queen, but I do know that inwardly you do; much more than you care to admit." He rolled his eye sockets. "Just remember, everything you do, every choice you make will ultimately affect your Happy Ending."

She allowed those words to brush her crown, it was far too little too late for her to truly worry about things like that. At one point in time the Mirror had promised to ensure her Happy Ending, just as Adam and even Frederick had; yet they all turned against her. She could not rely on them. She much take control of her own fate.

She took Grünes all the way to her room where she had him change into an old uniform of Frederick's that she had held onto and was pleasantly surprised that it fit him. It was all black, black boots, black trousers, black shirt, black coat – if Adam had ever worn this he truly would have lived up to his title as the Black Prince. It was rather shaking how similar Grünes and Adam were, the only difference truly being the eye color. She would have to use that to her advantage.

"Now, Grünes." The Queen smiled as she spoke to him. "Since you need to prove your worth to me, I have decided the perfect task for you."

He stood at attention and looked ready to burst through the window.

"You see, Grünes, I was betrayed by the Prince of Franca." She almost started laughing at how rich this situation was. "His name is Florian. And I do believe that the coward is going to try to escape me." She turned to the window and had Grünes follow her. They stood expectantly at the window and she nearly laughed as she watched Florian ride off on his horse.

"Do you see him, Grünes?" She pointed at his disappearing figure. Grünes nodded his head in response. "Good." She slid her hands into her robes. "Now I need you to bring me his heart in place of the one he did not bring to me."

He nodded his head again and he dissolved into a spiraling blackish green portal before completely disappearing. She turned back to the window and wondered what sort of prospects her little Grünes would bring her. He may not have turned out to have been a failure after all if he succeeds in this.

FLORIAN

"Got to get out." He panted as he ran down the long dark halls. "Got to get out. Got to get out of here, fast!"

He ran and he ran and he ran. He needed to get out of this castle, this country! He had never been beaten so terribly before and he knew that devil witch woman would have his head if she got a hold of him again. He wasn't sure where he was running too. He needed to go grab his things and his horse. He'd send the servants out just as fast, or even later if she needed them to slow her down. He ran so frantically he didn't hear Frederick's whistling until he full on collided with Frederick.

The air which he had just recently received had been knocked out of him again. He looked up and Frederick was glaring down at him.

"Don't hurt me!" He held his hands over his face for some sort of shield and just waited for him to strike him.

"What the - ?" Frederick huffed exasperatedly at him. "Prince Florian, what are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to leave!" He shouted as he sprung back up to his feet. "That Queen is crazy! She's going to kill me!"

"Ah, she finally scare you?" Frederick scoffed with an eyeroll. "You must have done something stupid if she's coming after you."

"You have no idea!" Florian's eyes burned and tears fell down his face. He didn't even bother to wipe them, he in fact appreciated them. They gave him a sense of feeling, that he was still alive.

"Oh, I'm very aware what happens when you decide to play in the Queen's court." Frederick crossed his arms and glared down at him. "You deserve death after killing the princess!"

"But I didn't!" He sobbed uncontrollably, all the anxiety and fear catching up to him. His voice even hitched an octave. "I didn't I didn't, I didb't! That's why she's gonna kill me!"

"What do you mean?" Frederick growled. "You brought her heart back, didn't you?"

"It was a pig heart!" He sobbed. "I didn't kill Snow White! Adam nearly killed me to get to her first and when I woke up I had to get a pig's heart or she was going to kill me then!"

"Adam got her?" There was relief and surprise in Frederick's voice, and if Florian wasn't such an emotional basket case he would have been cross with him for siding with Adam and his dirty blood rather than a pureblood from Franca!

"Off into the Dark Forest with both of them!" He snapped. "And now my heart's what's in danger!"

"Oh, get a hold of yourself you sorry excuse for a man." Frederick turned his nose up in disgust at him. "You don't act like a man nor a prince. You're the sorriest thing in life as an excuse for a man I think I've ever seen!"

"How dare you!" His tears stopped and soon his temperature rose with his temper. "You worthless -!"

"Watch what you say, leech." Frederick held him by the scruff of his shirt. "Your next set of words will decide whether or not I help you leave or help her find you."

"You'll help me?"

"I have every right and mind to just release you to her so you can suffer your fate properly." He growled. "But I am better than that and I will help both you and your staff leave."

Florian could not believe his ears. He knew very full and well that he had made an ass of himself to literally everyone in this entire castle; specially to Snow White and Frederick. He had no right for a second chance, but he also wasn't going to rebuttal it either.

"You are to listen and listen well, Prince of Fools, for if you don't the Queen will hunt you down and kill you like the coward you are." Frederick hissed in a whisper and Florian bit his tongue to fight down any insults or arguments. He nodded his head to show he was listening. "You are to take your horse and whatever money you have in your purse and leave immediately. Should you linger any longer there is no telling what trouble you'll get into; and other than giving you this advice and helping your servants I have no intentions of saving you. You're not worth it."

Florian could only glare up at him because he knew that if he argued he was as good as dead; as if he wasn't already. However, he couldn't resist the urge to ask the question that was begging to be asked.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked in all seriousness.

"Do not think it is because I have a kind heart." Frederick glared and there was a certain heat in his glare that burned Florian to his core in fear. "I am only saving you for the sake of this country and because you did not succeed in killing Snow White. You do not deserve to be saved, but the fact is that you failed to kill Snow White; even if it was due to Adam's interference, you still didn't kill her."

"I won't argue you that." Florian huffed. "she wasn't worth it anyways – "

Frederick shoved him down so hard that he had to gasp for air once he hit the ground. Wheezing and catching his breath he could only look up at Frederick. All this time he had seen Adam as the threat, but as Frederick loomed over him with such an ominous presence that made him fear that his skull was about to be stomped in he realized just how dangerous the Knight of the Evil Queen was.

"Get out of my sight." He hissed and Florian wasted no time in scrambling away.

He had never been more terrified in his life, and had it not already been for the terrible swamp smells about him he was sure that Frederick would have realized that Florian had a bit of an accident lying there on the ground. He had to get out of here, he would never return. The people in this country were too terrifying, to intense, too extreme in either kindness or violence. He would keep the peace between Franca and Apfel when he became king, simply because no matter the size of his army so long as the Black Prince Adam and the Evil Queen's Knight Frederick stood at the attention of defending this country, he never would stand a chance.

Panting and sweating worse than the pig he had to gut and soaking wet in the rain, he finally made it to the stables where his horse was waiting to leave. He made sure to pack some apples and oats for the horse for he would run it like mad until they were finally safe out of Apfel's borders.

"Come, boy." He spoke to the horse as he slid the saddle onto its back. "We've got to get out of here!" The horse tiptoed anxiously in his stall and shook his head. It was pouring rain and the storm only seemed to grow worse. Florian hated riding in storms just as much as his horse, but they needed to escape; no, he needed to escape. Even if something were to happen to the horse, he would run all the way back to Franca if he truly needed to.

Setting the saddle in place and slinging the provisions up on the saddle too, Florian hoisted himself up onto to horse before whipping the reins and riding off into the night. The rain pelted him in the face, stabbing needles of pain as he urged the horse to go faster.

"Keep going, boy." He urged as his heart beat in his chest just as hard and fast as the rain on his face. "We gotta get out of here!"

They ran through town and veered on the path that was on the right and would lead him on his long journey to Franca. The thunder rolled over head, the lightning cracked and deafened his ears and ominously lit the sky. He used that light to guide him through the forest path that would take him to the neighboring city. He had to let the horse steer itself because the rain was too blinding on its own and only got worse with the speed of the horse. He would put up with it though, he needed to survive. He needed to make it back to Franca, he needed to warn his father!

A bolt of lightning touched the earth and his loyal stead stood on its hind legs and knocked Florian off. With a shrieking whiny his noble stead left him in the rain and mud.

"Damn horse." He cursed and pushed himself to stand. "Should have made him into glue – "

Lightning lit the sky much quieter now and just three yards in front of him stood the man he hated most; Adam. He wore all black which made him blend into the night's blanket of darkness. He just stood there staring at Florian, studying him almost. That guy was just so infuriating!

"What are you here to settle the score?" He bellowed as his anger returned to him. But he said nothing in return, not even a sarcastic retort. That was odd.

"You got the girl, what else do you want?" he yelled over the storm. "I'm leaving anyways! What more do you want with me?"

He said nothing, and slowly began to approach him. Florian had no idea what to make of this. Adam was much to calm for his liking, it was intimidating to say the least; but mostly creepy like something was off. He just kept coming closer, though, and didn't even flinch as lightning nearly struck him. He just blinked in surprise and kept walking.

If the rain hadn't already chilled his bones his blood would have gone cold. With a shaky hand he drew his sword from his hip and pointed it at Adam.

"S-Stop!" He demanded. But he kept approaching until he was at the tip of the sword. Gritting his teeth and feeling more anger at the fact he was just ignoring him now, Florian leaned forward with a lunge to lodge the sword into Adam's chest. It went in almost too smoothly, as if he had just stuck it in a puddle of mud or a stick of warm butter. He didn't bleed either, not when the sword lodged itself into his chest, nor when Florian pulled it out. He just looked down at the sword then back at Florian in such an odd and curious manner.

It was only when the light from more lightning flash that Florian saw it. His eyes were green. Adam's eyes were black. This wasn't Adam. This was whatever that devil witch Queen was trying to create. Bile built up in his throat and he wanted to vomit. The sword fell from his hands and Florian didn't even have the chance to scream before the creature's arm went through his chest and gripped his heart and everything became silent.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!_

_Sooooo, this ended up being a little darker than what I was originally going for, but since this is a villain sorts of story, I must say that a little bit of darkness and brutality and cruelty was a little past due._

_Now that Florian is gone, is Grünes going to be a threat? Oh yes, yes he is, and he is going to be quite the loyal subject to the Queen. . ._

_Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-eight

FREDERICK

After Florian ran off into the night like the cowardice dog, he was Frederick did his final duty as a good knight and warned the Francan servants to pack up and leave. They were all very confused at first, but after learning that the prince had left, they all just huffed and puffed and gathered their things so that they too could get out on the road again. Apparently, Prince Florian had had a terrible habit of just up and leaving whenever he so chose to do; he even did so against his father's wishes. Much to his surprise Florian hadn't taken the carriage and therefore it provided the best form of transportation for them to leave unnoticed and in peace. He only hoped that they would actually make it to their destination in one piece and that they could properly explain things to the king if they could. He hoped they would be punished for not being with him when he first left, but if this was a common reoccurrence perhaps they would get lucky and not be punished.

Heaving a sigh he left the servants' quarters and returned to his own room at the edge of the West wing. He had no idea what to make of things. Allegedly Adam had gotten to Snow White and managed to actually take her away, but now the Queen was in the peak of her fury and there was nothing that Frederick could do. He hoped and prayed that Adam had gotten to her and that Florian hadn't made it up just to get off easy; but he wouldn't have run from the Queen in such a haste had he actually given the Queen the heart. What was that about anyways? It took a lot to make the Queen mad, he'd seen it firsthand one too many times to the poor pitiful souls that had to suffer her wrath that day. As the Queen's First Knight he could do nothing to help them then, and now that the title had been revoked from him, he couldn't do anything now. He literally could do nothing since she had completely dismissed him from his position as the Queen's First Knight; her only knight, really. It was the strangest thing; he was set free yet again, but he did not want to leave; this time he did not want to leave to ensure the safety of Adam and Snow White and not for the Queen.

There had been multiple times that she had sent him out on gruesome missions in failed attempts to get him away from her, but she had completely fired him from his position. She had kept her back to him the entire time, as though it was the only way she could actually fire him. His Grimhilde always looked him in the eye when she spoke to him. She only ever avoided his gaze when she had something got hide or she was trying into take too much onto herself. As much as he knew he needed to stay to ensure Adam's plans would fall through, he for once did not want to be in the castle any longer. He still couldn't shake the image of her forcing herself to stand tall, shaking while doing so, and practically forcing the words to come from her mouth. Though she said the blood bond between them was broken, she was very wrong. Maybe it weakened, but it definitely wasn't broken.

It would take an act of true betrayal for it to actually break. He could feel her heart pounding, could hear the wobble in her voice, and could see she was truly only saying that to get rid of him because she would now be doing things her way without the interference of a conscious. It would have been a much more devastating feeling had the bond actually been broken, he would have been in pain instead of angry. Oh, he was angry at her for firing him from his job, but he was mostly angry with her for the person she chose to become. He knew better than to harp on it or to seriously try to change her at this point, but she was much better than she was making herself out to be. She chose to be the way she was now and there was nothing he could do about it despite his best efforts.

He came to the small door that led to his room and felt exhausted upon entering. Now that he was in the safety of his room all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Women are so infuriatingly stubborn." He huffed as he flopped onto his bed and ran his hands through his hair.

He was still furious with her for sending Florian out to kill Snow White, but he just couldn't bring himself to truly hate her; not for his lack of trying. He could not help but feel as though it was the Mirror's hold over her that was causing her to do this; but how much of that was wishful thinking as of this point? The more he thought about it the more he thought about going around the castle breaking all of the mirrors . . .

He had to stop thinking. Yes, he needed to stop thinking and get to packing. He had been banished from the only place he had left in the world. His homeland was barren, the heart of his deepest love was barren, and now he should live a barren life with no where to go to, no one to turn to, and not even an identity to be known as. How ironic and painful the fall of greatness to the barren ground of nothing. He came to this kingdom with her, nothing to his name and nothing but the shirt on his back, he trained like he was supposed to and climbed the ranks to properly be by her side; and in the end it was all for naught.

Leaving his bed he went to his half barren dresser and pulled his three linen shirts, his green flannel shirt, two pairs of socks, and two pairs of pants and stuffed them into his brown leather travel sack. Though he was the Queen's First Knight, he had little to his name other than his clothes and pay. He didn't mind that, though, made it easier to travel; and he would be doing a lot of traveling now. He pulled open the top drawer and pulled the organized bags of money by metal value and tucked them in between the different layers of clothes.

Once all of his things were packed, he stepped back and looked at his back. He was seriously packed up to leave, possibly for the last time. His heart squeezed at the thought, but his anger stomped out the lingering feelings and affections towards the Queen; at least he wanted them too, oh how he really wanted them too. It would make this so much easier. . . But why was it so hard? It should have been easy; should have been. This was his one opportunity of freedom, but it felt as though he had been locked out of paradise, so to speak. Why was this so hard? He could be free, go anywhere he wanted, be who he wanted to be, buy a plot of land, start a farm, live a happy life. . .

Why did that make him feel empty? Why did he want to stay here?

No, he had to stop thinking. He needed to get out of here.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he bent and picked up his bag, and threw it over his shoulder. He went to the door and walked out without looking back and exited into the hall. The door clicked quietly behind him, but it sounded so loud in his ears, as though he had shut the door on a part of his life.

This castle that he knew like the back of his hand – all the secret passageways, shortcuts, hallways – was more home to him than it should have been. He wasn't even from Apfel, he shouldn't have gotten attached. . . then again his true attachment lay with the one who held the power over his heart. . .

His heart squeezed again, but he shook his head and did not allow himself to think on it. He didn't need to think, he just needed to go through with the motions and just leave.

Quietly walking down the hall he returned to the servants' quarters and went to Adam's momentary room. He peaked inside and saw that blue pillow that Snow White had made him. Frederick knew Adam would want that. Leaving the door open as he entered, he picked the patchwork pillow up and stuffed it into his travel sack.

He exited the room as quietly as he entered and closed that door behind him too before he went next door to Snow White's room. He hesitated outside of it for a moment, he half debated on knocking, just in case she was to magically appear; but he didn't knock. Ever so quietly he opened up the door and was not surprised by its emptiness. This gray room had been filled with so much light when Snow White had been here, it was ghostly quiet now without her there. He saw that she had packed her bags the previous night in waiting for Adam's retrieval of her.

His heart ached at that since things had not gone according to plan, but he was so relieved that she was with him in the end of it. Maybe, just maybe, they would be granted a little happiness and live a life outside of this kingdom; that was something he himself had longed for far too many years.

Entering her room with delicate care, he went to her bed and scooped up her own travel sacks before leaving the room. Her bags felt as light as his own. It should have been the complete opposite since she was a princess, but she took the life she had been given with care in every stride. She was perhaps one of the strongest people he had ever known. For someone to have been burdened with that kind of terrible life and still managed to find happiness was truly rare, he couldn't even make himself do that. Perhaps that was why Adam had been so drawn to her.

With her bags in tow along with his own, Frederick adjusted them on his shoulders to where they would sit comfortably before walking down the hall. His footsteps echoed off the walls as he left out the servants' entrance and exit. He stood on the porch and just looked at the swirling dark and terrible weather around him. Outside of the castle the rain poured, the wind howled, and it was as if nature tried to tell him to go back inside. He couldn't of course because he had to be out by morning. He would stay in Adam's little house in the village and would leave from there to the mountains to somehow meet with Adam.

Staring out to the dark path he would have to take in the pouring rain, his feet felt heavy as though he were chained to this place and though he was banished from the land he would stay here even if he wasn't supposed to. Standing there on the small porch he just stood and watched the rain.

_He could go back inside. . ._

_He could go back inside and sleep for a few hours. . ._

_He could go back inside and sleep for a few of hours and be gone by sunrise. . ._

_He could go back inside and go see her. . ._

_Not directly, but from one of his secret passages. He could go see her, just to see her one last time before he left. . ._

_But she wasn't her anymore. . . was she?_

_No, she wasn't his anymore. . ._

_His Love went away, didn't she?_

_When had she gotten so far away from him?_

_What had she gotten so far out of his reach when he was always by her side?_

_He never let her out of his sight. . . but things change in an instant, in a moment, in the quickest of blinks, so fast you can never see it coming, going, or happening. . ._

_Why hadn't he stopped her, when all of this began, why hadn't he stopped her when he had the chance?_

_He could have saved her from her stepfather, the king would have found someone else anyways, he had several mistresses already. He would have; but she just wouldn't let him._

_She wanted to protect him when it should have been he protecting her. . ._

_When did her light die?_

_When did she become so cruel, so cold?_

_Cold._

_It was cold. . ._

He pulled his coat closer and shuffle the bags on his shoulder. The rain simply poured and poured and poured. It would not be letting up this evening. Another sigh escaped him and he forced his legs in motion.

He started his trench through the rain. The rain stung his cheeks and made him feel alive again and reminded him how much he hated the cold. The day had been such a whirlwind of emotions and things that he almost forgot who he was and why he was living. Many regrets had weighted on his heart and mind, both dealing with the Queen and Snow White, and his body had gone numb with the stress of it all. As much as he hated to be wet and cold the rain was a welcomed surprise; until it poured harder and the wind was pushing back. His back bent as he pushed himself through the rain and he held his hand up to see past all the rain. Perhaps he should have just left in the morning. . . But he had already made it this far, he would have to go on with it now. One step after the other he pushed himself through the raging storm and finally made it to the bridge that would lead into the village.

Lightning lit up the sky and thunder urged him to move faster. As he crossed the bridge, he noticed a figure in all black walking towards him. He squinted through the rain and could barely make out the man's face.

"Adam?" He called over the rain. "Adam, is that you?"

The man stopped and glared at Frederick. He was only a few yards away from him and Frederick could see that the man was dressed in all black and that he was injured, his hand was bleeding. Something wasn't right. He was too quiet; it was rather unnerving. Something was definitely not right.

"Adam?" He shouted in alarm and ran towards him. "Adam, are you all right?"

He approached the man but stopped just as lightning shot through the sky and the thunder rumbled. Something was not right. . . In the quickest of light Frederick saw the man's eyes, they were green not black. Green eyes similar to his own . . . This wasn't Adam.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Frederick shouted over the rain, trying to remain calm. "You looked like someone I knew. . ."

The man said nothing and just walked past Frederick and continued to the other side. It was while the man's back was to him that Frederick saw that his hand wasn't injured, but that there was a heart in his hand. The rain was no longer welcome as his body had gone entirely cold. He stood there watching the man in black walk away until he could no longer see him before returning to his own task of getting out of the rain. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right, despite his best efforts to ignore it.

_What was that?_

_Who was that?_

_Did Adam have a brother?_

Frederick looked over his shoulder, just to make sure he hadn't been followed; he hadn't but he felt as though he had. Whoever or whatever that man was there was something dark following him. He was just as intimidatingly dark as Adam was.

Frederick did his best to ignore his thoughts and the feelings that screamed to do something and trudged on to Adam's house. He was so relieved to get inside and out of the rain. No one in their right mind would have walked out in that like he had. . .

_Then why did that man walk in the rain?_

He set down the sacks in the doorway and went to the living room where the small fireplace sat. There was wood placed in it, but he could see the thing layer of dust there which showed that Adam hadn't used this house at all since it was given to him. He frowned but pulled out his flint and stone and ticked the two together until the sparks took to the dust and paper in the wood and started smoking. The wood was dry which meant the fire would start cooking soon, but it would be a little while before it got hot.

Frederick sat down on the floor with a groan and threw in bits of kindling and paper that waited to be burned in a basket off to the side of the fireplace. Once the smoke finally escaped the wood, tiny flames began to nibble at the dry wood to start a little stream of flames. He kept feeding the fire and soon the fire began to feast on the wood and provide him with the warmth he needed. He sat back on his hands and just enjoyed the fire as best he could, but he could not push out the thoughts of that man.

_Why was he in the rain?_

_What was he even doing?_

_How did he get that heart?_

_Who's heart was it?_

"Easy, Freddy. . ." He sighed to himself and shook out of his coat. "That's not your jurisdiction anymore. . ."

_What if he got a hold of Florian?_

_What if he got a hold of Snow White?_

_What is he got a hold of Adam?_

In agitation he stood to his feet and went in the kitchen in search of food. He had to stop thinking about it. . .

_What is it was someone in the village?_

_Who was he working for?_

_Who was he?_

He slammed his hand on the counter to silence his thoughts. It was a failed attempt at best. He had been doing this crap for far too long to just not think about it. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Every fiber in his being screamed at him to leave and go after him. He had the bad suspicion that he as working wtih the Queen. If he as then serious problems were going to arise from this. There was something really off about the guy, as though he weren't all there, or as though he wasn't entirely human somehow.

He had no idea who this man was or what his purpose was, but he had the terrible feeling that things were only going to get that more dangerous for Adam and Snow White. He would tell Adam about his findings once he found Adam, but the best he could do now was to get a good night's sleep before hiking up the mountain to tell him about everything.

ADAM

"Oi!" A crotchety angry voice snapped loudly. "Oi, boy, wake up!"

Adam's eyes flew open and the vision of the Grumpy Dwarf loomed over him.

"I said get up!" Grump snapped and crossed his arms.

"What are you howling about?" Adam groaned as he pushed himself up off the floor. His head ached and he put his hand to his head. "God you're loud. . ."

"Had to make sure you were still alive." Grumpy harrumphed as he handed him a tankard of ale.

"I'm alive. . ." He really wished he wasn't though. His body was outrageously heavy and ached all over.

"Drink this." Grumpy pointed to the ale. "It'll warm your soul up some."

With little argument Adam merely drank the ale. It really did warm his soul quickly. His body still felt heavy and ached all over, but it made him feel more awake. His mind was still slow to start as he tried to remember why he was here.

"Snow White!" He jumped and looked all about the room for her.

"Easy, boy." Grumpy eased himself into his chair. "She's upstairs sleepin'. Did you not tell her we were comin'?"

"What do you mean?" Adam's brow furrowed. "I told her that you all lived here and she would be staying here."

"Well, she was practically terrified when we came home." Grumpy's foot bounced on the ground. "She looked as though she had been roughed up too. She was standing protectively over you while you were sleepin'."

"She what?" Adam blinked.

"what'd you do to her?" Grumpy growled.

"I didn't do anything to her." Adam said flatly. "I saved her before something terrible really could happen to her."

"Well, she was battered and bruised and had a few cracked ribs." Grumpy spat in a spittoon next to him. "You're lucky we're Dwarves and Doc is actually a Doc. He was able to use some green magic on her to heal her up and make her all kinds of pretty again."

Relief filled him and he fell back against the wall.

"You, on the other hand." He snorted with a smirk. "You look like shit. Smell like it too."

"That would be thanks to the Dark Forest and the swamps." Adam groaned. "Quite the security defense system you have there."

"Keeps unwanted kinds out." Grumpy shrugged. "We're far enough out where those unwelcome can't get here; though a few do . . ."

"What time is it?" Adam looked to the window and saw nothing but darkness outside.

"Ten past one." Grumpy yawned. "You've been out a while. We practically had to tear her away from you so we could fix her up and get her to sleep too . . . She didn't want to leave your side."

"It's been one hell of a day." Adam pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his arms on them. "She almost died today, by her fiancé."

"That ain't you?" Grumpy scoffed.

"No, it was the Prince of Franca." Adam glared at his shoes. "He chased her all the way into the depths of the forest with a dagger trying to carve her heart out."

"Yeah, that would make for a bad day." Grumpy agreed with a glare. "It's a good thing you got to her when you did; though you really should have been there sooner."

"I know." His hands clenched into fists. "I know. . ."

"She's strong, though." Grumpy commented. "Stronger than I think you might realize."

"Of course she's strong." Adam looked at the Dwarf as though he were a fool. "She had gone through so much and has endured through it for so long. No one weak could have put up with or done the things she's done!"

"I don't know what' you're going on about, boy." Grumpy snapped. "She's strong because she was in immense pain and kept tellin' Doc to heal you first before her!"

"What?"

"Once we introduced ourselves and told her we were the ones taking care of her, Doc immediately insisted on healing her wounds. She insisted that Doc heal you first." Grumpy groused. "I wouldn't let him though. You had a high fever, but she had much more pressin' injuries."

"How is she?"

"Like I said, she's upstairs sleeping." Grumpy rolled his eyes. "She's fine, probably as exhausted as you, but she's fine. Doc's magic healed her up just fine and now she just needs rest. Just like you."

"I'll be fine." Adam pushed himself up on wobbly knees and propped himself up on the wall. "I need to go and check the perimeter anyways."

"Check the perimeter?" Grumpy snorted. "Yo're an idiot if you think we don't have some sort of protective barrier around here. Besides, you sayin' you were 'fine' last time is what almost made you late in saving her!"

"And you didn't wake me like you promised!"

"I did." Grumpy growled. "You were just too damn tired to move -!"

The door from upstairs creaked and Snow White's head poked through the door. She wore one of Dopey's over sized shirts and Adam found the green very alluring on her. . .The shirt went all the way to her knees and he almost flushed with heat from seeing her exposed skin.

"Adam?" She whispered as she stood hunched over at the top of the stairs.

"I'm here." He went to the bottom of the stairs. "What's wrong?" He had to stoop as he climbed the stairs. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine." She blushed deeply and tried to stretch the shirt's length out lower. "I-I j-just heard your voice and wanted to see if you were awake . . . And I can see that you are awake. . ."

"And I can see that you are too." He chuckled and caressed her cheek. "You look much better."

"Mr. Doc is the one that haled me." She smiled gently and pressed her hand to his on her cheek. "Are you feeling better? You still look unwell."

"I'm fine." He reassured her.

"Ahem!" Grumpy cleared his throat behind them. They looked at the foot of the stairs where Grump stood with his arms crossed and his foot tapping.

"Yes, Mr. Grumpy?" Snow White asked.

"I know you both have been worried about the other, but it's nearly two in the morning." He put his hands on his hips. "You need to get back to bed, princess. Adam and I have a few things to discuss."

"Oh." Her cheeks burned a soft red and she turned away from Adam. Adam very much did not like the Grumpy Dwarf's interruption, but he disliked Snow White's turning away from him that much more.

"I'll see you in the morning." Adam assured her and tucked a curl behind her ear.

"Promise?" Those doe brown eyes were pleading with her. He smiled gently at her and felt terribly guilty after the other day.

"I promise." He nodded his head and took a step down the stairs. She hesitated a moment before slipping back inside the room and closing the door quietly behind her. Adam lingered until he heard the creaking of the bed before he descended down the stairs and rejoined the Dwarf on the first floor.

"Are you two goin' ta do that every time you see each other?" Grumpy crossed his arms again.

"Do what?" Adam glared down at the little interrupter.

"Like yo're two love birds seein' each other for the last time." His eyes glanced towards the door upstairs.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Adam said flatly, his hands balling into fists.

"Right. . ." Grumpy rolled his eyes and gave him a bored look.

"You said we had things to discuss?"

"Yes." Grumpy nodded his head before gesturing back to their corner. They returned to their corner, Adam to the wall and Grumpy to his chair. "Right, so you can't stay here."

"What!" Adam hit his head as he stood up. "Ow!"

"Pipe down your over dramatic boy." Grumpy hissed. "I'm not sayin' we're kickin' ya out. I'm just ayin' you two can't stay here."

"But we agreed - !"

"I know what we agreed on, princey boy, and if ya pipe down and listen for a minute I'll explain things." He growled. "You two can't stay here in this house, but we can make the two of you one where ya can stay."

"You're going to build us a house?" Adam blinked. "I don't know if that's very appropriate. . ."

"What the hell you mean 'appropriate'?" Grumpy looked offended. "You tryin' ta say you don't want it?"

"That's not what I mean." He hissed. "She is a princess, and I'm – well – I'm just here to protect her. . . We're not married. It would not be appropriate for the two of us to live together –"

"Is that what you're really worried about?" Grumpy raised an eyebrow at him. "You are here to protect her, aren't you?"

"Yes, I just said – "

"Then you'll be sharing a house with her." Grumpy said flatly. "It'll be a two-room house, but you can't expect to protect her if you don't keep her close. Besides, she's almost too tall to be here, and you're way too damn tall to be here. Plus, us givin' up our room does not need to be a regular thing, I'm supposed to be the only grumpy Dwarf."

"I see your point." He heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How much will this cost?"

"Not a penny." Grumpy spat in his spittoon. "It's a benefit to get ya'll out of this house and into your own. Besides, she hasn't done anything except show us kindness, I wouldn't charge her anything. Not very many people like her live in this world often. When they do show up you have to show them nothing but the utmost respect."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You tell me how many princesses, or just ladies in general, who are willing to show kindness to outcasts like me and my brothers." Grumpy glared, his voice quick and sharp. "Any who are willing to give up the comforts of their environment to live in a squalor like this."

"I would hold my tongue, if I were you." Adam warned gently. "You know nothing of what she had to go through in the castle. Her being here away from that world will be a comfort to her."

"Oh, I can imagine." Grumpy yawned. "Doc told us about some of these scars she had. She definitely didn't get them from reading books and sewing all day."

Adam bit his tongue and just stared at the Grumpy Dwarf. "How did he see these scars?"

"Don't go getting' your head stuck up your butt, boy." Grumpy warned. "Doc didn't do nothin' inappropriate. He only examined her to heal her. If this world would ever have allowed it he more than likely would have been an excellent doctor. So, don't go getting no stupid thoughts in your head."

"I'm sorry." He was sincere in that. "If you knew anything about what's happened to her. . ."

"Just watch the attitude, boy." Grumpy yawned. "It's not a good thing to have towards the people who are hiding you from the Queen."

"You're right. . ."

"I know." He pushed himself up from his chair and stretched. "Now, get some sleep. You still look like shit and the sun will be up sooner than it should."

With that Grumpy got up and wandered over to the kitchen where Adam saw the other Dwarves were snuggled up in a pile sleeping together. Guilt did sink in as he saw that they all had truly given up their bedroom for Snow White, but he was also terribly grateful for it as well. He wasn't sure what he would have done had they not been here or allowed them to be here. If he had never found them, or if they would not have allowed them to be here, they would more than likely be wandering through the woods helpless and having to deal with the ailments of the weather and whatever else nature wanted to throw at them. Adam was very aware that he owed a great debt of gratitude to these Dwarves. He had nothing that he could honestly give them in return. He only hoped that he could properly repay them one day.

With nothing else to do but sleep, Adam crossed his arms and his legs and leaned his head on the wall and tried to go back to sleep. He hadn't realized that it had been raining again and where it normally would relax him and help lull him back to sleep, it was blaring and loud and just kept him awake. Would he ever truly sleep again? Or would it continue to allude him? A sigh escaped him and his mind whirled and tried to plan for the future. What was going to happen next?

How long could they really be here? He would be here with her as long as it was necessary, but just how long would that be? Would it ever be safe for her to go back? Would she even want to go back? How long would the Dwarves allow them to be here? They were building them a house, which meant there was the expectation that they would be here for a long time, would that be too intruding? Snow White would be able to adapt to anything around her, she's proven herself of that, though he couldn't help but worry for her as well. She was very good at masking her true feelings behind those pretty little smiles, he was just glad that he could tell the real ones from the fake ones.

A yawn escaped him, but his mind just would not be quiet.

Other questions about the future, mostly involving himself now floated in his head. He had saved Snow White from the Evil Queen's clutches instead of killing her as the Evil Queen wanted, what was he going to do now? He hadn't even thought of really going back in all of this until now. Would he even be allowed to go back? Would he be in trouble for being gone for so long? He had been gone for what, a week here in Apfel? He knew of the time zone differences, and he had been coming here everyday for a month, but he had been in this realm almost permanently for a whole week . . . In this entire week he hadn't even thought of going back. In all honesty he did not want to go back, not while Snow White was here. He was an outcast to this Realm, but he felt as though he would be more of an outcast in the Anti-realm than he would here. In an odd sense he felt as though he were home here; that was a very odd thought indeed.

He wondered how much of his choices affected things in the Anti-Realm, he didn't anticipate them truly affecting them too much, but was Frederik all right? He could care less about the Queen, but was Frederick all right? He hoped that he was all right and that nothing terrible happened to him, but he couldn't feel certain of that.

"I'm sorry if I've abandoned you, Frederick. I do hope that you will forgive me. . ." Adam spoke in a hushed whisper and closed his eyes. "I promise it wasn't on purpose, but if I'm making the right choices, hopefully you won't be stuck in the life of servitude any longer and I think that we'll all be able to have our Happy Ending. . . "

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you for reading! I hope you've been enjoying the story so far!_

_I am not entirely in love with this chapter and there may be an update or an editing of it in the future, but for now with how the story is going this will be its selected chapter. I know this was rather boring after the previous chapter, but I wanted to try to show Frederick's feelings as he is no longer the Queen's Knight._

_Please leave me a review and tell me what you think._

_Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty-nine

ADAM

The morning came with the excited shouts from the Dwarves and Snow White in her dress from last night cooking breakfast. They cheered and bantered and argued as they waited patiently for Snow White to cook the meal. It was only Dopey that went to check on Adam when he was awake to bring him to the breakfast table. He hit his head on the ceiling beams at least twice before being shoved in a seat closest to Snow White. She stood at their tiny stove humming along making eggs.

"I forget you're an early bird." He yawned and rubbed his eyes. She jumped and looked over her shoulder, as if she had forgotten he had been in the house at all.

"A-Adam!" She squeaked and her ears turned pink. "I-I didn't hear you get up!"

"Hard to miss the loud thuddin' of his head hittin' the ceiling beams." Grumpy chortled as he sipped his tankard.

"That's not nice, Grumpy." Doc scolded with a glare that Grumpy completely ignored. "When you're that tall in such a small house it's hard to walk!"

"Still funny, though." Grumpy snickered into his tankard.

"Grumpy. . ." Doc rolled his eyes with a huff before throwing on a smile to Adam. "Mornin' fr-friend. Sleep swell – I mean, er, did you sleep well, Adam?"

"As well as one can while sitting up." Adam rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, well that problem won't be – er, I mean that won't be a problem for much longer." Doc smiled.

"Yeah, we're go into make you and the princess a nice little house." Happy chirped up. "Make it with nice high, high ceilings so you don't keep hittin' your noggin."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Snow White gasped as she put food onto plates. "That's so exciting!"

"When do you start working on it?" Adam asked.

"Today." Doc reassured. "The sooner the better, I think."

"I agree." Grumpy spat in a spittoon. "The sooner we get our beds back, the better."

"I thank you for letting me use your beds, Mr. Grumpy." Snow White hummed as she put the eggs onto his plate. "It was ever so kind of you to allow me to do."

The Grumpy Dwarf turned reader than his shirt from the rip of his chin all the way to his balding head.

"It wasn't a problem. . ." He spoke a little gentler into his tankard and avoided the gazes of everyone there at the table.

"He is right, princess." Happy chimed in. "It was no problem at all. Princess need to stay pretty, after all! Beauty sleep is the most important part of that."

"Thank you." She threw on a quick smile before turning back to the stove.

"Well, friend, I drew up some blueprints this morning." Doc continued on business affairs and pulled out the paper he had drawn the blueprints for their cottage on. "It'll be more on the simple side, which I hope will be all right since I'm sure the two of you are used to more extrag- extrgagvant- extravagant things."

"Simple and practical is extravagant enough, Doc." Adam tried to reassure him.

"It'll be a two story," He pointed to the paper. "Top floor will have the two separate bedrooms, and the bottom floor will have the bathroom, the kitchen, and sitting room."

"Sounds good to me." Adam nodded approvingly.

"There will also be plenty of windows to go around!" He beamed.

"How many windows?" Adam couldn't help frown at that.

"One in each of the bedrooms, one in the kitchen, the bathroom, and at least three, maybe four in the sitting room." He ticked off the blueprints to show him where.

"Do we really need that many windows?" He asked politely.

"Oh, yes." He nodded his head vigorously. "Because we're all the way out here on the other side of the Dark Forest you want to let in as much light as possible to the cottage doesn't get musky."

"I just feel like that's a lot of windows. . ." Adam had been used to having no windows at all in his life, so having so many left him feeling exposed.

"Er, would you like less?" Doc raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"Well – "

"Is this what the cottage will look like?" Snow White asked as she appeared at Adam's side. She leaned over to look at the blueprints.

"Yes ma'am.' Doc beamed with pride.

"Oh, I think it's lovely!" She clasped her hands together. "I love all of the windows!"

Doc cast a nervous glance at Adam and Adam bit his tongue.

"Are we all right with this many of windows, princess?" Doc glanced back at Snow White.

"Oh, yes." She nodded her head and turned to Adam "Don't you agree, Adam?"

His throat felt tight and he merely nodded his head.

"Y-Yes." He said. "Yes, it's perfect."

"Great." Doc was trying to hide a knowing smile. "The men and I will get to it!"

He shoveled the eggs into his mouth then pushed himself to a stand.

"All right, men!" He raised his voice. "Shovel it in and let's get moving out! We've got a cottage to build!"

The Dwarves all shoveled food into their mouths and followed their fearless leader outside so they could begin work. With all the Dwarves gone the room became quiet with just Adam and Snow White in the kitchen and dining room. This was the first time they'd really been alone.

She returned to her stove and hummed a happy little song as she began to cook again. Adam sat at the table, not really knowing what to do with himself, and just looked at her. He really liked that dress on her, he was surprised to see that there wasn't a stain on it after being in the swamp yesterday. The yellow was sweet and pretty on her, but that blue was so gorgeous on her. He really liked that shade of blue, it was his blue, that she was wearing.

"I think that dress is very lovely on you, Snow White." He found it hard to speak for some reason.

"Really?" She turned around with the biggest smile on her face.

"Yes." He smiled at her. "It suits you so well."

"I-I made it." She turned back to the stove and finished with the eggs.

"I assumed so." He chuckled. "Your handiwork is so detailed and refined; I'd know it anywhere."

"T-Thank you." Her cheeks burned a pretty rose color as she brought the cast iron skillet over to the table.

She served the eggs onto their plates and they quietly began to nibble on them. They were sunny side up eggs and possibly the best things he has ever had.

"These are good." He commented, his face grew warm.

"I'm glad." She smiled between bites.

"These are really, really delicious." He swallowed and found himself staring at her.

"They're just eggs." She giggled. "But, I'm glad that you like them."

"I've never had them like this before." He explained. "In fact, there's plenty of things I've never had before until I came here to Apfel."

"Really?" She blinked in surprise.

"I had my first tart here." He nodded and placed his hands on his knees. His hands felt sweaty, and his heart beat fast in his chest. What were these strange bundles of nerves he was feeling?

"Well, while we're here you'll get to try many new things then." She beamed and was brighter than the sun. Oh, how he loved that smile, those red lips. . .

"I look forward to it." He continued to eat and allowed his eyes to linger on her dress. The deep blue complimented her skin tone greatly, it made her skin even more porcelain than before. Even the red accents in the sleeves were complimenting of those lips. . . He bit his tongue and though the pain was sharp he was glad for the quick sobering up.

"Are you excited about the new cottage?" She asked as she put a forkful of egg into her mouth.

"Excited is quite the word." He huffed. More like positively terrifying. He had had her in close proximity before in his own house in the village, but that was a completely different time in his life. Now things were more complicated. They were away from the castle, they were away from a lot of the rules he was required to follow, they were going to be sharing a cottage together with only the Dwarves as an interference at best.

He had been so strong up until this point, but after the other day. . . Too much had been said.

"I think it will be really nice." She only shined brighter in her excitement; those doe brown eyes so full of life.

"I . . . think so too." He nodded his head in agreement and quickly shoveled the rest of his eggs into his mouth. She merely giggled at him and continued to eat, and a small silence fell between them. He wasn't aware how . . . tense things seemed to be between them. He had no idea where he stood with her now. It was much easier when he hid his feelings, she knew too much of them now.

"Adam?" She set her fork down and placed her hands in her lap.

"Yes?" He set his own fork down and hid his hands under the table. They gripped his knees tightly. What was this lack of composure that he felt?

"D-Do you . . . " She chewed her lip and looked him in the eyes. "Do you remember the last night?"

"What about last night?" He had been a feverish mess and had no control of what he said. He could hardly remember what he said, but there was something very distinct that she had said that plucked the very strings of his heart and bounced around there.

"D-Do you remember w-what I said?" Her cheeks became rosy all the way to her ears. His heart couldn't handle it.

"W-Which part?" He cleared his throat, try into compose himself. His heart was already drumming in his ears, the room was far too hot, and he wasn't even sure what he would do if she said those three words again; be may very well burst from so much happiness!

"What I said to you was really important. . ." Her face just kept getting redder. "Please. . . please tell me you remember them. . ."

"Those were the most important words ever to be spoken into existence, my darling." He spoke seriously and tried to keep his voice from shaking. Her face was the reddest it had ever been, he was greatly worried she would start to turn purple if she deepened another shade.

"G-G-Good." She looked down into her lap, a far too late attempt to hide her face from him now. "I-I was really worried that . . . because I really meant it a-a-a-nd it was the most difficult thing I've told you . . ."

"Your words have touched me deeply and have cut me to my core." He admitted and oh how she squeezed his heart. "I want greatly to return those words to you. . . but the timing isn't right yet."

"What do you mean?" Her head shot up and two things he never wanted to instill into those doe brown eyes reflected back at him. Fear and anxiety. He stood and kneeled before her, making sure to be very slow so as not to alarm her. What he had to say was not easy, not easy at all.

"Please don't worry, my dear, Snow White." He looked her in the eyes. "The words that I want to say to you are the same as yours."

"Then . . . why won't you say it?" Her brow furrowed and confusion clouded the fear.

"It's – I'm –" He closed his mouth and took a hard swallow. "I'm not good for you, Snow White. I'm really not good at all. . . I'm trying to be, and there is something that I must do before I am good for you."

"What do you mean?" Her voice sounded frantic. "What do you mean you're not good? Adam, I know that you had a different purpose when you met me, b-b-but you've already shown you're a good person! You've taught me how to read, to write, a-a-and you've even protected me!"

He could see frantic tears threatening to breach the dams.

"Not like that, Snow White." He shushed and took her hands. "I will not leave your side, and I plan to be by your side until the day I die."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"However, there are things that I have to do before that."

"I don't understand. . ."

"Have you. . ." He gulped again. "Have you ever noticed why I hardly touch you, why I always wear gloves and multiple layers of clothes?"

Her brow furrowed as she was further confused, but she nodded her head.

"You see." His heart shook and his nerves made his tongue swell. "I was raised under terrible conditions in which my body was trained to absorb and emit toxic poison since my birth." He made sure to choose his words carefully since his origins were not by natural means. "And because of that by touching anyone or anything with my bare skin it can be lethal. . ."

He didn't know why this was so difficult for him to explain to her. It was the truth, it was a part of who he was, it was what made up his chemical makeup; yet why was it so hard to tell her this? Why did it feel as though it just confirmed that they were to be star-crossed lovers for all eternity? Those doe brown eyes merely stared back in wonder at his as she soaked up all of this information.

"So, until I get a cure for this, I'm no good for you." There, he said it. He finally got it out.

"That's why . . ." She smiled ever so happily then suddenly threw her arms around his neck.

"S-Snow White –" He made sure to catch her but had no idea why she was hugging him like this.

"Oh, you are ridiculous!" She half laughed half cried. "I thought you didn't like me!"

"What?" He pulled her off to look down at her face. She immediately covered her nose and mouth with her hands and sniffled. "How could you think that?"

"All this time. . ." She hiccupped as she sat in the floor. "I thought that you didn't like me because other than being an escort, you never touched me. I thought. . . I thought I repulsed you . . ."

"Never." He held her wrists and removed them from her face. "You could never repulse me, Snow White."

"Oh, I'm so happy." She laughed despite her tears and hung her head. "I really really thought it was something entirely different. But it explains so much! Now I know why you panicked that day I held your hand in the library. . ."

"You're taking this . . ." He was waiting for some other sort of reaction. "Surprisingly well. You're not disturbed by me?"

"Why would I be?" Her smile faded and now she held his gloved hands in her own. "I'm supposed to be a princess and have lived my life as a scullery maid up until you came into my life. I was a stupid little girl who knew absolutely nothing until you came into my life. Now I know why you wouldn't touch me or hold me, why would I be disturbed by this? Besides, I've already held your hand once and it hasn't affected me!"

"Because it isn't, well, normal. . ." He had no idea what to make of this. His heart jumped up and down happily while his brain tried desperately to process this. She should be disturbed or repulsed by this, not. . . relieved and excited. "And that was a very rare circumstance. I can't even begin to tell you how terrified I was when you did that. I couldn't bear to live with myself if I ever hurt you."

"Nothing in my life is normal, Adam." She sniffled with a hiccup and a smile. "You know every terrible thing about me. . . And you've still remained by my side while knowing everything. You have no idea how many people have turned me away or called me terrible names once they knew that I was no longer –"

"Please don't." He winced and held her hands tightly in his own. He hated to think how she was scarred for life in one of the worst ways imaginable. Even if he did kill the men who scarred her so deeply, he could never return what she lost.

"Please do not speak ill of yourself or denote yourself in anyway, Snow White." He practically begged. "I would give up my life if it meant I could turn back time and undo what has been done to you."

"Please don't say that." She shook her head and pressed his gloved hand to her cheek. "I would never be happy had you never come into my life."

"Snow White. . ." His heart thudded in his chest and his face was far too warm for his liking.

"Terrible things happened to me, yes." She sighed in acknowledgment. "B-But if those terrible things had never happened, then maybe I wouldn't have met you. . . "

"Snow White." His hands held her face. She was just a few inches away and oh how those red lips tempted him greatly. "It does not matter if it were this Realm or another or even a different timeline, I would have found you, one way or another."

Whether it was because of fate or because of the Recruit Program he somehow just knew that he would have ended up meeting her; one way or another.

"I would hope so." She chuckled softly and held his hands with her own on her face. That smile was too beautiful!

He pulled her into his chest and held her tightly. He just wanted to keep her there and never let her go. He would do anything to keep her safe.

"But what happens now?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around him.

"What do you mean?" He pressed his cheek on the hand that rested on top of her pretty head of curls.

"How long will we have to remain here?"

"Until it's safe." He sighed. "How long that'll be is a different story. I won't know until I meet with Frederick and receive news of the fool's departure."

"Will it really be safe when Prince Florian is gone?" Her voice was a whisper.

"It will be safer, but not entirely safe." He played with one of her curls with the tip of his finger. "I don't think it'll be truly safe until the Queen leaves. . ."

She didn't say anything in response.

"But no matter what happens, I promise to keep you safe." He promised and hugged her tighter.

"Why do you go through so much trouble for me?" She asked weakly, her entire body was limp.

"Because you are the most important person to me in all of the Realms." He pet her hair. "No one else compares to you."

"I don't deserve that. . ." She sat up and looked at him. "I haven't done anything worthy of being that valued to you."

"That is where you are wrong, my darling." He smiled gently at her. "You saved me from the monster I was bound to become had I listened to the Queen. You have no idea what your very existence has done to me, not to mention the kindness you shown me. Your kindness alone was the main attribute that saved me. Please, don't ever doubt yourself. You are stronger and braver than you know."

Her eyes seemed to glitter with happiness as she looked at Adam. Her cheeks were rosy, her lips were upturned in the prettiest of smiles.

"How long will it take to find the cure?" She tilted her head.

"I don't know." His brow furrowed at the abruptness of her question.

"Please find it soon." Those red lips were so tempting. "Because I would really like to kiss you."

He was very sure his heart stopped because his face burned so deeply that Snow White broke out into a fit of laughter. He had to cover his face with his hand and her laugher only continue to bubble out from her.

Adam was so relieved when Grumpy harrumphed into the cottage, cursing when he stubbed his toe. Adam was able to regain some of his composure and assisted the still laughing Snow White to her feet. She rubbed the tears from her eyes with her dainty little fingers and Grumpy had a suspicous look on his face. Snow White had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing, but she could not seem to stop her shoulders from shaking.

"Don't tell me I'm gonna have to have someone babysit ya." Grumpy groused as he looked Adam up and down.

"Absolutely not." Adam glared.

"Sure." He scoffed and looked at the laughing Snow White and relaxed his face a touch.

"Did you need something?"

"Yeah." He snapped. "Are ya still going into town?"

"Yes, I have too." Adam nodded his head.

"What?" Snow White immediately stopped laughing and her head snapped around to look at him.

"I have to meet up with Frederick." He explained to her. "I have to let him know that I've got you hidden away in a safe place. I also need to get your things."

"Oh." She sounded very disappointed.

"I will be back." He promised her. "I'll be back this evening."

"Could I come with you?" She put her hands together, almost in a pleading manner.

"I don't think that'd be wise, princess." Grumpy spoke up gently. "He just took you out of the fire, I don't think it'd be such a good idea to send you right back."

"Y-You're right." She threw on a smile, trying to mask her disappointment.

"Don't look like that." He turned and tipped her chin up to have her look at him. "I'll be back. There's nothing to worry about."

"I know." A more genuine smile flickered, but faded just as fast. He let his thumb run across her bottom lip before tracing her chin and tucking a stray curl behind her ear. Her cheeks and ears turned red as those doe brown eyes widened at him. He didn't hide his smile before turning to leave.

"We'll keep her safe here." Grumpy promised as he walked Adam out.

"I know you will." Adam said affirmatively. "I would not have brought her here otherwise."

"Yeah, yeah." Grumpy huffed as he closed the door behind them. "Now before you go, I'm just goin' to tell ya one thing."

"And what's that?"

"If you break the princess's heart, I'm going to break your skull." He glared up at Adam. "I can tell that the likelihood of that happening is very slim, but if something happens, you do anythin' stupid, you're gonna get the biggest whoppin' taste of Dwarf magic there ever was, got it?"

"I will hold you to that." He smirked and turned on his heel and started the long trek down the mountain.

* * *

FREDERICK

The night hadn't been long enough for Frederick to get a proper sleep by the time the sun arose. The sun peeked through the curtains and burned his eyes until he finally sat up. His body begged for more sleep, and if he didn't have so much to do maybe he would since he had nothing to really do now. That thought alone shook him hard. He had nothing to do for once in his life, other than his obligation to Adam, he had nothing to do. It was too unfamiliar for him to not have anything to do; he would have to change that and make some sort of schedule for himself once he mapped out a new destination to start from scratch. That was quite the thought, after living in Apfel for almost fifteen years he being right at thirty, having to start from scratch in everything was a grueling thought.

"No use thinkin' about it." He yawned and threw his feet off the bed. "You got too much crap to get done to be moping about that right now."

"Are you really moping?" That irritating voice droned from the small vanity mirror in the corner of the room. "That's so unbecoming of you, even as an Ex-Knight."

"What the hell do you want?" Frederick roared as he stomped over to the Mirror.

"Good morning to you too." The Mirror blinked unabashedly at him.

"Why the hell are you here?" He slammed his hands down on the surface of the vanity.

"Gracious, are you this angry in the mornings?"

"What do you want?" He snapped.

"I'm only here to check up on you."

"Oh, what, so you can report to the Queen that I haven't left yet?"

"Ooooohhh, you're referring to her as the Queen instead of my Queen." The Mirror chuckled. "My, my, isn't this a surprise?"

Knowing better than to smash the mirror, though he desperately wanted to, Frederick quickly rummaged around in the drawers for something to cover the Mirror. He could still talk, but at least this way he couldn't see. He found a green shirt that he draped over the Mirror.

"Really?" The Mirror snorted. "You're stooping this low? I thought what we had was special, Hunter."

"You broke our deal!" Frederick yelled. "We agreed that you were to turn her away from the Dark Arts, not draw her in further!"

"You can draw a horse to water, Hunter, but you cannot make it drink." The Mirror said firmly. "And despite what you think, I have not broken our agreement. On the contrary, it would seem as though things have sped up a little."

"What are you lying about?"

"Temper, temper, Hunter." The Mirror tutted. "Haven't you learned what your temper does to you?"

"Shut up!" Frederick barked.

"No, I will not." The Mirror yelled right back. "I am here to tell you that our agreement has not changed, and I have vital information for you!"

"And what's that?" He scoffed, his hands clenching into fists, ready to break the glass.

"The Prince of Franca is dead!"

A chill ran through the room.

"What?" Frederick snatched the shirt from the Mirror. He had to see the soulless sockets to make sure it truly wasn't lying to him.

"Prince Florian is dead." The Mirror restated.

"How do you -?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"Prince Florian failed to bring the Queen Snow White's heart and instead gave her a pig's heart." The Mirror explained.

"He what?"

"The spell that she has been concocting to create a body for me failed yet again." He glared. "And in place of one for me to obtain, a doppelganger of Adam with green eyes was born."

"What?"

"It was the creation that went out and killed the Prince, by the Queen's command, of course." The Mirror frowned deeply. "She had him take the heart of the Prince."

The man on the bridge in the rainstorm. . .

"The creation has been dubbed Grünes, for his green eyes." The Mirror continued. "He is as powerful as Adam, but not as toxic."

"What are you saying?"

"That Grünes stands no chance against Adam, and that Adam is the only one that can stop him." The Mirror confirmed. "And that things are finally rolling into place for everyone."

"What do you mean Adam is the only one that can stop him?"

"He is similar to the Dr. Frankenstein's experiment." The Mirror explained. "Wait, that's a bit ahead of your time. . . The Great Prometheus, no, now that's dating too far back. "

"Get to the point, Mirror."

"The point is that Grünes is a powerful creature that can only be defeated by one of equal or greater value." The Mirror frowned. "And Adam is the only one that can defeat him."

"But why?"

"Because Adam's toxins are the only thing strong enough to stomp the mindless beast."

"He just can't catch a break." Frederick ran his hand through his matted bedhead. "This isn't good. . ." he immediately tried to formulate a plan. "But why are you telling me this?"

"Because whether you believe me or not, I am on your side."

"And what side is that?"

"The one that leads to the path of a Happy Ending for everyone." The Mirror smirked at Frederick's confused face.

"What is that even supposed to mean?"

"More than you know." The Mirror chuckled. "That is all that I can say on that matter, though. But once you meet with Adam you must tell him of the things that have happened. You must tell him that Prince Florian is dead and that the Evil Queen has a new minion in which she is going to try to kill Snow White."

"Please don't say that." He winced.

"What? That the Evil Queen is – "

"That." Frederick closed his eyes in a grimace. "Please don't call her that. . . I know she's made several mistakes but –"

"Frederick." The Mirror said carefully. "I am aware of your emotions towards the Queen, but even you cannot deny that everything she has done up to this point is evil. She has merely taken on the role as the Evil Queen."

"I just don't want to hear that." Frederick shook his head. "I just – I can't."

"Humans are far too emotional." The Mirror rolled his eyes. "But so be it, I shall refrain from calling her that in your presence. But it is a fact that you cannot deny, Frederick."

"Is there anything else that you need to tell me?"

"Yes. . ." The Mirror hesitated. "That you should not leave this city."

"But I've been banished."

"Yes, I know, I was there to listen to that interesting little scene." The Mirror rolled his eye sockets. "However, if you want to still be able to save your beloved Queen later on once her creation has failed her, you're going to need to be at the ready for when I tell you to leave."

"What are you even saying?"

"Must you humans be so daft?" His nose crinkled in disgust. "I can't reveal the future, Frederick, you know this. I am bound by a vastly different set of rules by Fate than you humans are. I can only provide the smallest of hints and smallest of guidance to you if you at all want to have the slightest chance in regaining the woman you once loved."

Frederick merely stared at the Mirror. He was being far too serious to truly lie to him, not to mention he was always deathly serious when it came to things dealing with the future. As much as he truly loathed the idea of having to continue to listen and work for the magic glass, he was going to have to take his chances and actually follow the Magic Mirror if he really wanted to get his Hilde back.

"What do I have to do?" He huffed and dragged his hand down his face.

"Other than inform Adam of the most recent events, nothing." The Mirror shrugged.

"What?"

"There's nothing you can do except wait and abide by your time while you wait for things to finally take its course."

"That's impossible!"

"No, it's entirely possible." The Mirror argued. "You're just too emotional and devoted to a woman who doe not even recognize her own reflection because of the Shadow that has consumed her. Not even she sees that there is still the slimmest chance of redemption for a new life."

"What would she have to do?"

"For her to truly return to who she was, she would have to be able to let go of the crown entirely."

"What?"

"She would have to accept the fact that she is not a suitable ruler and needs to leave the throne in Snow White's hands."

"She'll never do that. . ."

"Never say never, human." The Mirror chuckled. "There's always a chance for someone to change, no matter how tiny it is. It is just a matter of self-reflection and the boldness that goes with the willingness to step up to the challenge of change."

"How do you. . ." His heart restricted with hope. Oh, God, how he hoped and prayed that she would accept the change! "How do you know that things are all going to work out? I mean, without telling me specifics of the future?"

"I shouldn't say." The Mirror had a smug smile. "But this story has gone on long enough and I'm calling in for a little help from a unique business partner of mine. . ."

"Business partner?"

"He's a friend of mine that lives on the other side of the Realms of smoke and glass." The Mirror chuckled. "He's owed me a favor for quite a long time and I'm finally calling it in."

"How can someone simply owe you a favor?" Frederick scoffed. "The only favors I know you to share are the ones that cost an entire life of servitude."

"Please, Hunter." The Mirror rolled his eye sockets again. "You may hold your grudges against me because of your Queen, but you have no idea of the challenges I have faced and the life of atonement I have been cursed to be behind the glass of humans who want to play in the Dark Arts."

With the droning tone of the Mirror, it was very hard to feel any sort of sympathy towards him.

"Well, that's enough talking." The Mirror decided. "If I have news for you or require your services I shall get in touch. In the meantime, you should really get to climbing that mountain."

* * *

ADAM

It was so much easier to maneuver in the Dark Forest when there was actual daylight and an actual knowledge of where to move. He was able to follow the Dwarves already premade paths. Though they were little they were wide and helped give Adam the space he needed for his feet, though he had to either duck under things or climb over them to stay on the paths. In a few short hours and a relatively painless trek down the mountain, Adam came to that terrible crossroad between the Flower Fields and the Mountain. As he emerged from the Dark Forest right between the fork in the road, he saw Frederick approaching. He had never before been so glad to see him. He even met him halfway as though they were lifelong friends.

"Well you look terrible." Frederick smirked as he met Adam.

"You're one to talk." Adam smirked at the jest. "You are pretty haggard looking yourself."

"I feel pretty haggard." He let out a long and deep yawn before they shuffled to the shade of the trees at the edge of the Dark Forest.

"I'm surprised to see you all the way out here." Adam noted. "It's pretty far out."

"Oh, I'm aware." He yawned again. "Not an easy hike. How did you do that every day?"

"You build up the stamina." Adam gave a shrug.

"Stamina my ass." He huffed and shuffled his sack off his back.

"That's to the language a Knight of the Queen should eb speaking." Adam snorted.

"Well, I'm not a Knight of the Queen any longer, so I'll talk however I damn please to."

"What?" Adam gaped.

"She fired me." He shrugged as he leaned back on his hands. "She also banished me from the kingdom."

"That's terrible!"

"I'm staying at your old place." He said blankly, as though it didn't bother him. Despite the brave face he had, Adam could tell that this deeply cut him.

"She'll never look there. . ." Adam wasn't entirely sure how he needed to respond.

"I know. That's why I'm there."

"then why are you here?"

"to give you your crap." He handed over the sack to Adam. "It's all of Snow White's things she had packed and that pillow that was on your bed."

"How did you -?"

"I double checked the rooms before I left." He sat back up and propped his elbows on his knees and interlaced his fingers together.

"That was very kind of you." Adam noted, not entirely sure how to approach him in conversation.

"I've got news for you." He stared straight ahead.

"What else –?"

"Prince Florian is dead." Frederick's voice was flat, and it came out rushed. Both shock and relief eased into Adam.

"Was it the Queen?" He looked at Frederick. Frederick avoided his gaze.

"In a round about way, yes." He heaved a heavy sigh.

"She wouldn't get her hands that dirty." Adam surmised.

"NO, but she'll let your twin brother do it."

"My what?"

"She made something, a creature, a monster, and it looks just like you, but with green eyes." Frederick explained as he plucked up pieces of grass and tossed them aside. "He could pass as your twin. She's named him Grünes."

"She created another version of me?" Dread instantly stomped out the relief that was momentarily there. "H-How is that even possible?"

"I don't know, but whatever she and Florian were working on created another you, but with my green eyes." He dragged a hand down his face and exhaustion only seeped deeper into his features. "I know she as trying to create a body for the Mirror, but it failed because Florian gave her a pig's heart instead of Snow White's heart."

"It would have seriously failed if she would have had the pig's brain." Adam held his head with the tips of his fingers. "Even the heart of a pig will allow some success. . ."

"So you've seen this before?" Frederick's head snapped to Adam.

"It's how I was made, Frederick." Adam avoided his gaze now. "Not a fun process. Painful even. But I do know after me she tried to create a few more and they all failed terribly. . . The fact she was doing this at such a young age is terrifying. . ."

"She's been in the Dark Arts for a while now." Frederick glared.

"Still." Adam bit the inside of his cheek. "Things are getting serious. Things are getting dangerous."

"What, you're telling me things weren't serious before?"

"Not really." He huffed. "I was sent here to kill Snow White. . ."

"But you fell in love with her instead." Frederick snorted. "Classic."

"I never said that!" The sun suddenly shone too brightly and burned Adam's face.

"You can't lie to me, Adam." Frederick smirked in pride. "I've seen the way you act around her. It's okay to accept your feelings."

"No, it's not." He shook his head. "Not while I'm the way I am . . . Until I can get rid of the poison's laced in my body, I can't. It puts her at too much risk."

"Not a risk taker, are you?"

"Not with her life, never." He shook his head.

"Makes it hard to not root for you, man." He patted Adam on his shoulder.

"You were against me?" Adam glanced at him.

"Not entirely." He shrugged. "Just wasn't sure of your reasons in getting so close with the princess. But she's the happiest when she's with you. So, hurry it up and get rid of the poison."

"That's a challenge and a half. . ." His mind slipped back to that transfer spell. . .

"I do have a little hint for you from the Mirror." Frederick offered.

"From the Mirror?" He raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to have anything with it if it involves a hint from him."

"Ouch, here I thought my grudge was bad against him." Frederick blinked in surprise. "I can't stand the guy either, but allegedly he's routing for some kind of Happy Ending nonsense."

"Of course he is." Adam glared ahead of him.

"He said that you're going to be the only one that's going to be able to defeat Grünes."

"Defeat him?" Adam's brow furrowed. "He's that big of a threat?"

"He's got to be if the Queen is relying on him to come after Snow White since both you, me, and the dead prince failed to."

"He'll never make it through the Dark Forest." Adam said firmly. "I will make sure of that. Even if I have to make nightly visits to make sure this Grünes doesn't make it through, I will not allow him to come into contact with Snow White."

"If there's anything I can do to help, just say the word." Frederick clapped him on the back. "You've got a spy on the inside for a little while."

"I will." Adam felt as though yet another burden had been placed on his shoulders to bear. It was almost cruel, but he would do it, he would overcome it if it meant keeping Snow White safe. He would die for her if it meant that she would be safe.

"How is the princess?" Frederick went back to plucking the grass.

"She's well, though I regret to say that I almost didn't make it to her in time with her encounter with that fool."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me."

Suddenly, Frederick reached over and punched Adam's arm. Hard.

"What the –"

"That's for not being there to get her that morning."

He punched his arm again, harder this time.

"That's for not getting her fast enough."

"Knock it off!" Adam growled and held Frederick's wrist. "I have suffered enough in punishment for being late!"

"Good." Frederick sighed. "You have no idea how worried I was for both of you. I thought you died that night in the storm. . ."

"I would never be taken out by a storm." Adam declared almost defiantly.

"I'm just glad you two are both okay." Frederick hid his face in his hands. "I could hardly do anything to help. I was terrified of anything happening to either of you. . . I thought I lost you both. . ."

Adam got a good look at Frederick and could see how the past few days had taken a heavy toll on him. He'd gone far too long without sleep, he'd been terribly stressed with the responsibility of keeping Snow White safe, he lost his job to the woman he, for some odd reason, loved, and had literally risked everything to make sure they received their things and was willing to be a spy on the inside for Adam. Frederick was far too kind for this world. He deserved so much better than what he received. Adam wished he could give him something, do something to repay him somehow; not that Frederick would likely accept it under that sort of reasoning.

Frederick was the truest man Adam had met yet, and he wanted to call him a friend, more than a companion. He was almost like a brother, which only indebted Adam more to Frederick's service to him in both his young and old age. As he sat quietly, observing Frederick, he could see tears streaming down Frederick's face. He was silent, of course, no sniffling, no shuddering of the shoulders, he just sat there in silence and wept. Whether it was from job, or sadness, or relief, or even pain, or even just the passing few days' events he just sat there and let the tears fall from his eyes. Adam did his best to respect him and remain silent. Frederick wasn't a prideful man, but he was still a man with pride and shedding tears in front of another man was a great act of strength.

For as many burdens as Adam had endured in his lifetime he could clearly see that Frederick had double, perhaps triple, the amount that Adam ever had. Adam wanted to take those burdens away somehow. He would do it. He would find a way to remove the burdens from Frederick's strong shoulders. Frederick was a strong man, the strongest Adam had ever met in any Realm. But even the strong had limits; everyone has a breaking point. As Adam sat quietly beside Frederick listening to his soft cries and the birds and nature being as soothing gas it could all around them, Adam determined that he would finish things. He had to be successful in accomplishing the Happy Ending. It wasn't just for him, or even Snow White anymore. It was for Frederick, and as much as he hated to admit it, it would be for the Queen too because the only way Frederick would truly be happy without regrets would be to have the Queen he knew and loved so dearly back again. Whatever happened from here on out, Adam had to succeed. There was no room for failure, the cost would be too great and there were too many people's happiness at stake. He would succeed, he had too. As the creation of the Evil Queen who was never in his entire existence allowed to fail, he would continue to live up to that standard and find a way for the Happy ending for everyone.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you've been enjoying this so far!

Please continue to leave me reviews! I'm trying finish this fun little story as soon as I can.

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more, and hang on tight!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	40. Chapter 40

Just to inform my lovely readers this chapter is a part of Black Apple Poison, and could potentially, though it is not currently, part of the Another Chance for Disney Villain Recruiters. I am informing you all of this now so that you are not confused, this little tidbit needs to be here for future chapters.

* * *

Chapter Forty

MR. V

In the dark Anti-Realm where the rain seemed to only ever pour over Mr. V, he was making his way to the Evil Queen's Castle. It seemed as though everything had fallen into pieces as the Recruits were all scattered about in their Realms fulfilling their mission. He was still waiting to hear back from Ms. Scatter, and if he didn't hear something from her soon he'd have to go in after her himself. The Recruits were returning to the castle less and less, Adam specifically hadn't been since Ms. Scatter's disappearance. Mr. V had been genuinely concerned for all of his Recruits, but it was unlike Adam to be purposely missing for so long. He could not help but wonder if something had happened. Normally he would take a peek into the world to check on things, however, the door to the Apfel Realm has been sealed shut. Which meant one of two things. Either Adam broke his terms of agreement and told the Evil Queen of her past with the knowledge he held, or he was reaching the end of his story and there was no going back as his End was to be determined.

On top of being worried for his Recruits, their personal servants, or the indentured servants to the Original Villains, were getting sick, having memory lapses, or quite literally fading away from the Anti-Realm; depending on what the Recruits were doing would depend on the positive and negative outcomes of this. Frederick especially seemed to be in a daze. Ever since Adam left he's been cooped up in his room, rarely leaving unless he falls into place in his memory rather than the altered one. His eyes have given him away more than one account of his confusion to his situation. The oddest thing is that he has asked Mr. V about Adam more than the Queen. Before now he only ever asked about the Queen, but since Adam's confinement in Apfel, well things have changed to say the least. He had gotten younger by a year each passing day that Adam was gone, which was a good sign to Mr. V, though he wasn't sure how much he could actually speak up for the Evil Queen herself.

Since her last visit she hasn't called, hasn't gotten in touch with hardly anyone, and seems to have become a hermit just as bad as Frederick. As much as Mr. V really didn't want to, he was going to have to pay her a visit. Not because he wanted to, nor because of the contract that they had signed, but because the Magic Mirror made a call. After the rough month of dealing with things with Ms. Scatter, the last thing he truly wanted to deal with was a surprise call from the Magic Mirror. However, he had his duties and promises with the Magic Mirror to keep anyways so checking up on the Evil Queen was the least of his worries.

He turned the corner, jumped over a puddle, and stood in front of the castle. The dingy worn-down castle stood in its ruins, mostly held together by years of ivy. With a sigh and a forced smile Mr. V approached the giant doors that would be the entrance to the castle. The doors were obnoxiously tall and would only be useful if there were servants or knights on the other side to open them. He twirled his cane before knocking non the door. He stood there patiently waiting and just enjoyed the rain until a familiar, yet unfamiliar face appeared. A smaller more average size door opened within the larger one and a green-eyed Adam stood there. Mr. V blinked as he stared at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked sharply. "I thought you were supposed to be in Apfel -!"

Before he started to scold the look alike much more he saw a gold medallion around his neck with the name "Grünes" in scripted there. He stood there as still as a statue just looking at Mr. V.

"Oh, well that makes much more sense." He huffed out a laugh and tried to recover himself with a smile. "You certainly are the green-eyed one. Is the Queen in? I am here to pay her a visit as part of our contract."

Grünes nodded his head, stepped back and allowed Mr. V to enter. He looked around and got a good taste of the Anti-Apfel castle. There were holes in the ceilings that allowed rain to fall into overflowing buckets, moldy carpets, and a foggy chill coming from the stones within the castle.

"For my first visit here I must say that I'm impressed by how intact this place is." Mr. V chuckled as he closed his umbrella and hung it on his arm. Grünes said nothing but gave him a disapproving look before turning on his heel and walking down the foyer's halls.

"Not much of a talker, I see." Mr. V chuckled dryly. "Now, I wonder, is that because you can't or because you were cursed?"

Grünes stopped, turned to Mr. V, and opened his mouth to let out the terrible squealing of a pig.

"I'd go along the lines of being cursed." He rubbed his ear with a smirk. "Though, if you're an exact replica of Adam, I'd say you were made that way."

He snorted in response and just glared at Mr. V.

"No need to be pissy." Mr. V held up his hands in innocence. "I'm merely makin' observations. Now if you like I could give you a little assistance in the field of speaking."

Grünes narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"No need for the judgmental looks." Mr. V chided. "I know you have no idea who I am, but just as a small introduction, I'm Mr. V. I'm the founder of creating the Disney Villain Recruiters, catchin' your interest yet?" He smirked as Grünes did not look impressed. "Well, see part of my job is to help the Recruits, such as your twin brother Adam."

Grünes let out a low growl and genuinely surprised Mr. V.

"All right, so brothers may be stretching things a bit." He gave a shrug and dug into his pocket to retrieve a small vial in the shape of a conch shell. "I don't normally go out of my way to help others, however, this will benefit me just as much as you." He held the vial up next to his eye and shook it lightly. Grünes's eyes widened at the vial.

"Now I have your attention." Mr. V chuckled. "See this is one of Ursula's little things that I've had the . . .opportunity of collecting in exchange for sea shadows over the years. But let's not bore you with the details. The point is, this little vial here has the Gift of Voice. Meaning, you drink this you will be able to speak like a normal human being instead of squealing like a pig."

Grünes looked momentarily excited, as if it was the best thing he had ever heard, but then his eyes suddenly narrowed and he growled again.

"Why the hostility, friend?" Mr. V mused. "I know you think I'm not simply going to give this to you for free. No, nothing in life is ever truly free, there is always some sort of cost. But don't you worry, my friend, the exchange for this is very simple. You get the Gift of Voice so long as you provide me the information I need. I just need you to pop in every few days and tell me how the Queen is doing."

Grünes immediately shook his head and squared his shoulders back, his hands in fists, and his knees bent, as though he were ready for a fight.

"No?" He blinked in surprise. "Well, that's too bad. . . But since I'm such a nice guy I'll give you time to think about it until after my little visit with the Queen, what do you say?"

Grünes said nothing as he turned on his heel and stomped off in the direction he had originally started. Mr. V merely tucked the vail into his pocket and continued to follow him; he knew he would be interested in it later.

The walls were bare with no paintings or decorations to cover them; the most of the windows were broken or completely gone and hap hazardously covered with red moldy curtains; there were even rats running along the floors. Mr. V could not help but be disgusted by the sight; the Evil Queen would never had stood for rats to scurry about her castle. She must be in a worse state than he realized. . .

The smell of filth and mold soon ebbed way for strong rose and apple perfumes as the carpets became cleaner, windows were repaired or properly boarded up, and the air was warmer because of a fire in the hearth as they went to the East wing. It was in the East wing that some of the former glory and grandeur had been preserved and proved that there was some sort of life left in the place. The walls were still gray and thanks to the weather it was all very dank, but it was much more comfortable to breath and walk in the East wing rather than the foyer.

Grünes brought him to the end of the hall where a large door stood sealed shut. Grünes knocked three times before opening it and stepping in and even invited Mr. V to enter. He went from the freezer to the oven as he stood in the Queen's room. A blaring fire roasted the room to the point Mr. V had to take off his top hat and he even debated on removing his coat; he did not. He looked to the grand queen-sized bed where a woman he could hardly recognized lay there glaring at him. A mild aged woman with black and graying hair with fierce green eyes lied there.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed in a wince.

"Just poppin' in for a visit, your highness." He bowed his head politely and stood next to her bed.

"You're ghastly." Her nose wrinkled at the sight of him. "Did you not think that my lack of visits was a sign that I did not wish to be seen?"

"Oh, I thought about it, yes." He nodded his head with a smile. "But due to the contract and some things going on in the castle, I figured I'd check up on you."

"Well as you can see, I am struggling between the ages." She growled and balled her hand into a fist. "No thanks to you and that cursed Adam!"

"I don't think you should be spouting out curses with your current state, your highness." Mr. V teased gently. "How are you feeling?" He snapped his finger and a pair of skeleton hands appeared in midair with a pen and notebook, ready to take notes.

"Don't you dare ask me that you peasant." She snarled as she pushed herself up onto her pillows. "I have migraines every day to the point I have been confined to this bed in my room and can't even sit up without getting dizziness spells!"

"I see." Mr. V nodded his head. "How have your memories been?"

"Spotty at best." She snapped and put a hand to her head as if it she needed to hold it up because of how heavy it was. "They keep changing! One minute I finally have Snow White in my clutches ready for the kill, others she's in a glass box with Adam as her knight and protector, and others. . ." She winced and covered her eyes.

"And other times?" He pressed, urging her to continue.

"Other times people who I have never met appear and for whatever strange reason I had actual contact with Prince Florian." She grimaced with a groan and glared at Mr. V. "Even he appeared!" She pointed to Grünes who looked at her with great concern. "I vaguely remember creating him and he's been a loyal dog to me since I've been this way, but I hardly know myself anymore."

"And when did he appear?" He pointed to Grünes.

"Earlier this week? Perhaps a week ago?" Her other hand went to her head. "Oh, I don't know! He's been here taking care of me and there's nothing I can say or do to get rid of him!"

"I see." He glanced to Grünes then back to the Queen. "Very interesting. . ."

"Why are you asking so many questions?" She rubbed her temples.

"For information on how to make things better." He replied with a smile. "And maybe move things along a little faster. . ."

"What was that?" She cracked one eye open at him.

"Just trying to get the progress of things moving along a little faster." He responded with a smile. "Nothin' to worry about. I just have to see where I need to make improvements."

"Is Frederick suffering as much as I am?" She asked with both of her eyes open and something well hidden in her eyes.

"I don't know if suffering would be the right term . . ." He raised an eyebrow in surprise that she asked about him. Up until now she hardly recalled him or chose not to speak of him. "He's lethargic and seems to be having memory lapses just as bad as you, but he doesn't complain. He either sits in his bed staring out the window or just sleeps it off."

"Typical." She rolled her eyes and let her hands drop in her lap. "If he ever got sick or injured he would just sleep it off until he was fine again. . ."

"Sometimes sleep is the best things to be done." Mr. V offered gently. "Have you been sleeping well, your highness?"

She had heavy circles under her eyes and he could not tell if it were from her constant back and forth aging or if it were truly from lack of sleep.

"What is sleep?" She scoffed and sunk deeper into the pillows. "Every chance I try to sleep it alludes me by headaches and migraines and assaults me with memories I hardly know."

"And these are frequent?"

"Very." She closed her eyes and waved her hand at him to dismiss him. "I tire of these questions. I want you to leave."

"I will in just a moment, your highness." He snapped his fingers and the skeleton hands disappeared. "I just have one final question."

"Out with it."

"Would you like medicine for your headaches and migraines?" He pulled out an apple shaped vial. She opened her eyes and eyed it suspiciously.

"What is in it?" She pointed at the vial.

"Quite a few things." He chuckled as he allowed her eyes to examine it. "It's nothing toxic, I swear. Just . . . think of it as a heavy dosage of melatonin. . ."

"Are you trying to kill me?" She raised her eyebrow at him. "That would set an imbalance to this world if you did."

"No, no." He waggled his finger at her. "I never seek out to help others with the intent to kill. No, this would be an offer in the smallest amount of being able to help you because of the contract."

"A heavy dosage of melatonin, eh?" She raised her eyebrow and sat up. Her arms shook as she did so.

"It is just a little something to help you sleep while we all wait for this Recruit thing to finish up." He assured her and summoned a teacup of tea with the wave of his hand. "What do you say, your highness, would you like to dream instead of remember things?"

"There's no curse or spell that goes behind this?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"None whatsoever." He allowed three drops of the clear liquid to fall into the tea. "it is absolutely harmless and will only allow you sleep until the end of the Recruit program for Adam."

He held the teacup out to her, but she merely stared at it, trying to dissect it before digesting it.

"And if I don't wake up?"

"Oh, you'll wake up." He reassured her. "You just may not wake up here, you'll wake up in whatever Ending Adam has provided."

"And am I the first to try this?"

"No, actually." He chuckled seeing her suspicion. "It was actually Frederick. That's really the only thing keeping him down right now. It doesn't allow pain to come to you and just allows you to sleep."

"If this were truly a plot to kill you Grünes would have run his sword through you by now." She assessed as she glanced at Grünes. Her eyes lingered on his for a moment for she loved those eyes, those deep green eyes, just like her Frederick. . .

"Yes, I assure you of that, your highness." He smirked. "Now, would you like a cup of dreams?"

"Yes." She conceded and took the tea. With shaky hands she took it from him and sipped it at first, testing it for poison before drinking the rest deeply. She tipped it all the way back to get every last drop before handing the cup and saucer back to Mr. V. "Quite the flavor. . ." She yawned and tried to focus her eyes on him.

"Yes, it is quite strong." He snapped his fingers and the teacup disappeared.

"Hmmmmm. . ." Within a few seconds her eyes shut and she fell back against the pillows into a deep sleep.

Tucking the vial away into his inside breast pocket he turned to see Grünes glaring at him.

"Now, now." He placed his hat back on his head. "Don't be glaring at me. I gave her the choice and she took it. She will more than likely sleep for a few days at best, so you shouldn't worry. I assure you that it is entirely harmless and it is only a sleeping potion."

He readjusted his coat and umbrella and looked to Grünes.

"If she does wake up before the end of the week, you must come and get me, squealing or screaming, you must come and get me."

Grünes raised an angry eyebrow at him.

"If she wakes up before the story is finished she will be in immense pain and her brain will likely explode from the pressure and the constant changing of memories." Mr. V explained. "Unless something happens in the story that Adam has been creating to heavily disturb her, she will sleep until the Ending has finally been reached."

Mr. V could see Grünes's fists shaking at his sides.

"You need not worry, my friend." He placed a hand on Grünes's shoulder and gave him a gentle pat. "She will wake up and everyone should finally get their Happy Endings; even you, Grünes."

Grünes blinked in surprise at him before shaking his head and shaking Mr. V's hand from his shoulder too. Grünes went to the door, opened it and with his whole arm gestured to Mr. V to leave. With a sigh and a heavy heart Mr. V did as he was told and exited the room alone, the door being slammed behind him. As he walked through the East wing and down the stairs, he noticed that the area that would make up the West wing had changed drastically. Instead of the other side of the castle there was a field of giant flowers with a humble and simple cottage off in the distance with forests behind it.

"How odd. . ." He noted as he took in the sudden beautiful scenery. "It looks as though Adam has been moving along faster than I thought. . ." He looked all around him and could see the tiny invisible white Web Weavers eating away at the moldy castle and repairing it with the greenery. They were like tiny spiders, changing the webs of Villain history.

"Keep up the good work." He tipped his hat to them. "Let's continue to give our Villains a better ending than what they had, shall we?"

He turned left at the stairs and felt the chill return to him and the terrible scent of mold returning as he exited the foyer doors. He made sure to shut the door tightly behind him before stepping off of her property and noticed that the Web Weavers had already worked on creating their boundary lines for the Anti-Apfel castle. He could just faintly see the crystals beginning to shape and form and grow as the rain helped them grow taller and taller.

Mr. V smiled as he left the Evil Queen's premises and returned to the Anti-Castle. He would have much to record and still had much to do. "So much to do, and so little time." He sighed as he exited a portal to his office.

"Yes, I agree Mr. Valentino." The droning voice of the Mirror greeted him as he entered his office. The giant Mirror in his office which he normally used to assess his clothes to make sure he was presentable for clients had been occupied by the biggest fathead he had ever seen, the Magic Mirror.

"You are a ghastly sight to see." Mr. V frowned and set his umbrella in its rack. "To what do I owe this displeasure?"

"Business, Valenito, business." The Mirror chuckled with a sneer. "We can be civil to discuss the thins we want to hear."

"What news do you bring, then?" He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"In Apfel Adam has gone rogue against the Queen and has successfully tucked the Princess Snow White away with the Seven Dwarves in the Dark Forest." He chuckled. "Oh, how the Queen has gone mad."

"Carefully in your laughter there, Mirror." Mr. V pointed. "You're showing emotion."

"All in good time, Valentino." He continued. "She has created a new being from the spell in which she was supposed to create my body."

"Grünes?" Mr. V asked with a hand to his chin.

"You knew?"

"Time flows differently here." He gave a shrug. "Met the pig squealer this afternoon."

"I see." His nose wrinkled in distaste. "I should also inform you that the Queen has had Grünes kill Prince Florian."

"Such as shame." Mr. V tutted. "He was making quite the challenge for Adam, but the story must go on."

"I do think that Grünes will prove to be quite the match for him." The Mirror commented. "He is an exact replica of Adam, the only difference is that his blood and body has not been laced with poison as Adam's has."

"Interesting." Mr. V noted. "Do tell me, oh Magic Mirror on the wall, is there a way to actually remove the poisons from his body?"

"Of course." The Mirror nodded his head.

"Would it be in that ghastly grimoire?" He grimaced.

"No, Valentine." The Mirror frowned at him. "No, there are certain spells that are not written down; specifically, that cure for that curse."

"So, it is a curse. . ." He mused. "And how might one remove this curse of poison?"

"There are two ways, Valentino." He explained. "The first would be an abstaining of poison intake and usage and simply wading in a bath of Holy Water for three months."

"Bathing in Holy Water for three months." He put his hand to his chin and shook his head. "Sorry, but we don't have time to actually stretch Adam's story for three months. Besides neither he nor I are really the religious where we wouldn't mind the holy Water. Though with how sinful and villainous we are it may very well burn us like bleach."'

"How astute of you." He rolled his eye sockets. "The second would be to transfer the poisonous ailments over to a body of exact measure."

"Why exact measure?"

"If the measurement is too small part of the poison will linger in the blood." The Mirror explained. "And a measurement too much could be twice as fatal and resolve in losing the soul."

"How does that work?" The measurement was very intriguing to him.

"The exact measurement, Valentino." The Mirror spoke firmly and refocused the conversation. "It a complete and whole transfer of poison without the loss of soul or resulting of death for the transferer."

"And the recipient?"

"Depends on their pain tolerance." He smiled darkly.

"So lemme get this straight." Mr. V tucked his hands under his armpits as he thought this aloud. "The only way for him to really be free of his poisonous life would be to transfer it all to Grünes – which is what I'm getting at with the exact measurement thing – then what happens?"

"Adam will be purified."

"And what happens to Grünes?"

"Depending on his own strength he will either live or die." If the Mirror had shoulders he would have shrugged by the bobbing and tilting of his head.

"And if it fails?"

"If what fails?"

"If Adam should fail to complete the transfer, what happens?" He rolled his wrist for him to go on.

"He would either retain it or die from it." The Mirror blinked thoughtfully. "He's had years of tolerance and has literally had it in his system practically since his beginnings. So, he would survive then perhaps be miserable for the rest of his life."

"And Grünes?" He asked.

"He'll either go mentally insane or will survive the account." The Mirror answered.

"That would be an interesting sight." Mr. V snorted. "Seeing the body of the Magic Mirror running around like a lunatic."

"Amusing, Valentino." The Mirror said flatly. "Simply amusing."

"How peculiar . . ." He frowned thoughtfully. "Are all curses this ridiculously difficult to break?"

"Nothing in life is ever simple, Valentino." The Mirror snorted at him.

"Fair enough." He bobbed his head from left to right in thought.

"Are you really going to help the boy, Valentino?" The Mirror asked curiously.

"I'm helping you get a body, aren't I?"

"So was the Queen, at one point." He growled. "But even she found a way out of it."

"We both know that they all work in their best interests." Mr. V raised an eyebrow at him.

"And I expect you to be included in that." He gruffed.

"Well, not quite." He chuckled dryly. "Shadowman deals work a little different. Where the Evil Queen will just get her Dark Arts and black magic taken away from her, mine is a little bit more. . . deadly. And we both know nothing in life comes free; there's always a price."

"Then what do you propose to do?"

"We will have to go through with the transfer idea." He scratched his chin. "I don't see another way. . but I need to see Adam in action before I make any choices."

"What?"

"Despite the fact that I have no attachment to Grünes, he is still a living breathing. . . thing." He shrugged his shoulders. "I have to make sure he doesn't have a soul before we can offer up his body and so you can use it; though making you a being that could only squeal like a pig would be terribly amusing."

"Valentino, I would like to remind you that I also have information about your precious Ms. Scatter that I will withhold should you interfere with my body."

"Funny choice of words there." Mr. V snorted. "I won't mess with Grünes like that. I just need to inspect it from afar. He seemed to be functional enough and just lacked the ability of speech, but if there's anything out of place or peculiar, I need to know before we go through with this."

"You're impossible."

"That's probably." He chuckled. "But, let's get on with it. . . I'll need you to open a portal to Apfel."

"What?" The Mirror blinked at him in surprise. "What about the information regarding Ms. Scatter?"

"I'll allow you to withhold it from me momentarily." Mr. V shrugged seeming uninterested. "I need to validate this body candidate for you and check in on Adam. . . If you tell me anything about Scatter now, I won't have the focus to deal with my Recruits. . . So, you need to hold onto that little tidbit of information until I assess things in Apfel."

"As you wish." The Mirror began to spiral and left a green glowing spiral in its place. "Remember to stay on the green path, or you'll end up in another Realm."

"Not a novice, Spiegel." Mr. V snapped as he entered the Mirror.

"You may not call me that until I have a body!" The Mirror shook the magical Door Between Realms.

"Touchy." Mr. V tisked his teeth and walked along the green stain glass path.

Even though he had walked the many rainbow-colored paths that led to other worlds it never stopped surprising him every time he entered. Each color was different, each shade led to a different world, each minute difference made up everything. The smallest slip off the path could be detrimental and exciting. Outside of the regular Doors Between Realms there are hidden passages all throughout the Realms that allow those who do not have the amulets to pass through. Such a strange and fascinating world.

The Mirror's face reappeared at the end of the road, much quicker than Mr. V anticipated; he glanced over his shoulder and saw that he had actually walked much farther than he thought.

"This way, Valentino." The Mirror spiraled again, and the clear image of a luxurious bedroom of cream and blue appeared.

He stepped through and he was greeted by the strange and unfamiliar fresh air of Apfel. He currently stood in the lighter version of Adam's room.

"How quaint." He looked around unimpressedly. This room had as little objects and personality as Adam's room in the Anti-Realm was. "Where's Grünes?"

"Probably out in the small courtyard with the apple tree." The Mirror supplied.

"Right then." Mr. V tapped his cane and set off. "I'll see you in a bit."

He left the fancy blue room, descended down the stairs and wandered the halls until he found the small courtyard. In the sunniest spot in the courtyard Grünes was sitting under the apple tree eating an apple and watching the river water flow downstream. Mr. V merely stood in the shadows of the doorway and studied him. He seemed normal, very normal, in fact, but there was something unnerving about him; something was off on him. Perhaps it was because he was too still, didn't seem to breath, or even seemed to not have a pulse, but regardless Mr. V did not like this Grünes, and as his other form in the Anti-Realm showed he did not like Mr. V. As much as he hated to take the lives of those who don't deserve it, but this Grünes was going to have to be an exception in this. His essence was dark, darker than Adam's even, and Mr. V couldn't quite place why. Perhaps it had to do with the matter of the heart; Adam had Frederick's heart and Grünes had the heart of a pig. Perhaps, perhaps.

He stepped back into the shadows and tapped his cane to take him to the mountains. He remembered most of the little places that Adam had gone into great detail to explain in his Mission Journal and found it very easy to venture to most of these places. He stood at the edge of the Dark Forest where he could look out and see the Dwarves' cottage. He stood in the shadows and watched as the tiny little Snow White went about humming and whistling while she worked with Adam following after her helping her. They were doing laundry, hanging up several pairs of socks. He could not resist the smile that came on his face as he watched Adam succumb to the tiny princess's charm. Even being several yards away Mr. V knew that Adam made the right choice. He only hoped that this would lead to his Happy Ending. . .

"I hope you know what you're doin', Adam Apple Poison." He chuckled as he propped his hands on his cane and just watched. As if he heard his name, Adam's head turned to the Dark Forest in the general direction of where Mr. V stood. He actually raised his hand, just in case Adam was looking for him, and waved slightly. Adam's eyes locked on the movement, said something to Snow White, she skipped inside the cottage and soon Adam was approaching the tree line.

"Ah, Mr. Adam Apple Poison." Mr. V smiled broadly at him. Adam did not smile in return but frowned deeply with his hands balled into fists at his sides.

"What are you doing here?" He spoke in a low growl.

"At ease, my friend." He put his hand over his chest in mock hurt. "I'm not here to do anythin', I'm just here to check on you."

"Yeah, fat chance of that." Adam's face grew very dark and Mr. V could smell the faintest scent of sweet poison.

"Whatever you think of me, Adam, I reassure you that I am only here to check up on you." He spoke seriously to Adam. He still didn't relax. "You haven't been back to the Anti-Realm for practically a month, closer to month and a half really, but I don't exactly know how time works here –"

"I'm not going back." Adam said flatly. "If you are here to demand that I do, you're wasting your time."

"Testy testy." He tutted with a smirk. "It looks as though someone has gotten very infatuated with the little princess." He chuckled, but Adam didn't deny it. "Well, well, well, no denyin' it?"

"There's no point in denying things when they're true." His hands clenched tighter and Mr. V noted that he had deep circle under his eyes and he looked angrier than he had in the Anti-Realm.

"Nothin' wrong with that, my friend." He looked Adam up and down. "No judgment here, if you knew anything with my background, you'd know I was in the same boat once upon a time. . . but there was a prince to interfere. . ."

"I'm just trying to protect her." Adam answered weakly. "Because of what I am I can never be with her . . ."

"What you are?"

"All the poison." He looked down and his fists released. "She's suffered her own amount of poison damage over the years, but she would never be able to handle mine. . . I couldn't bear it if something were to happen. . ."

"The tragedy of love has greatly stricken you, my friend." Mr. V sighed and rested his arms over his cane. "But you shouldn't worry about it too much."

"And why is that?" He stood straighter.

"Because unlike me who had no one to ensure a helping hand." He straightened himself out and dusted his coat off. "I can help you."

"And why would you do that?" His eyes narrowed.

"I gotta get this story movin' along, Adam. I know you're pretty detail oriented and stuff, but you're really dragging this out." He explained.

"What are you –"

"Look, my friend, all is not lost in your tragic romance." He smirked. "There is a way to get rid of your poison." He looked Adam in the eyes and waited for a smart remark; there was none. He was listening intently. "There should be a book that you borrowed from my library at one point in time that has a unique series of spell that are equally helpful as well as harmful."

"The one with the Transfer spell. . ."

"Ah, so you are aware of it." He smiled proudly. "Good, that'll save me a little bit of explanation. How much have you read? Do you understand how it works?"

"I've read it." He nodded his head and crossed his arms. "But I have to have something of 'exact measurement' for this to work."

"Oh, well you won't have to worry about that for too long." Mr. V chuckled. "You'll probably be meeting him soon."

"Him?" Adam glared.

"Hey, Adam, have you ever wondered what you'd look like with green eyes?"

"No." His brow furrowed in confusion.

"Good." Mr. V shrugged and snatched up his cane. "You'd look good with green eyes."

"What is that –"

"Be on the watch for unfamiliar familiar things within the forest, my friend." Mr. V offered. "I can't offer more help than that, but just be careful when you go into the forest."

Due to his own limitations in how he could and could not interfere with the stories, Mr. V could not give away any information that would drastically alter the Endings.

"What are you planning?"

"Absolutely nothing." He tapped his cane and a portal swirled behind him. "Just be sure you don't wander too far from your cottage or else you might regret it. . ."

Before Adam could question him further, Mr. V stepped back into the portal and reappeared in the blue room in the castle. The Mirror floated listlessly in the glass as he waited for Mr. V to return.

"I assume you found him?" The Mirror inquired.

"Yes." Mr. V nodded. "It would appear as though I do not have to worry too much about this story as I thought I would."

"What do you mean?"

"Since you have been a key player in all this, I can't tell you, Mirror." He patted the glass in a mock attempt to pat the mask's face. "But you'll find out about a few things in due time."

"You are absolutely infuriating!" The Mirror growled.

"It happens." He smirked with a shrug. "Now, open up a portal to the Anti-Realm. I have work to do, and you need to tell me more about Scatter."

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading! I hope you've been enjoying it so far!

I know this was a different sort of chapter, and it was rather necessary for me to stitch the stories all together. I know I've not written many, but Mr. V's role as the leader of the Recruit Program is rather important.

Just as a reminder, I do not own the Disney Villain Recruiters and that this is a fanfiction story of my own making. This was something I wanted to write spur of the moment and have enjoyed writing. I do know that in comparison to my darker elements to the Recruiters that they are supposed to be a happy/sweet sort of sadistic little helpers to the Villains themselves and that they love their Villains. I can't tell you why I went this route in making the Recruiters dislike their Villains (some of them will actually like their Villains) I just felt as though it would add to the plot and dramatic elements with the story.

Please leave me a review and tell me what you think. The reviews for my first three stories are really necessary because they will help me plan out my next stories that are to come. ^_^

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-one

ADAM

An entire month had passed since Adam last seen Frederick.

An entire month had passed since Adam and Snow White started living together, in separate rooms of course as it was the proper thing to do.

An entire month has passed, and Adam and Snow White have only known peace and serenity in their quiet cottage outside the Dark Forest. Even though the Seven Dwarves were their neighbors, they were better company than Adam could have ever hoped for. They daily updated their enchantments around the cottages and provided the highest form of security that they could offer. Not to mention that Adam went on daily perimeter patrols to make sure nothing strange was afoot.

An entire month had passed and Adam still had not gotten any closer to removing the poisons in his body. He read the book of spells over and over again trying to make sense of things, and though the spell was entirely simple, how was he supposed to find something of Exact Measurement? He heaved a sigh as he climbed the hill that would take him to his humble cottage. He was first up and last to go to bed to secure the perimeter and spent his days helping Snow White clean and do things around the cottage. It was almost as if they were married; oh, how he dreamed that it was so.

He reached the top of the hill and stopped and stood and just took the entire vision of his cottage that he shared with Snow White. It had been eerily quiet with nothing and no one to disturb them. The Queen hadn't even sent out an arrest warrant, according to Grumpy and Dopey from their weekly visits into town to sell their wares. They told him that Frederick was laying very low and working simple stable hand jobs and helping some of the villagers work on their farms. He was doing his best to simply blend in with the crowd. If it weren't for the fear of something happening to Snow White should he ever leave her side again he would have gone into the village to see Frederick for himself. He debated on taking her with him once or twice, but he hadn't paved a clear enough path for her that wouldn't be too strenuous for her. He could tell that she missed the town, specifically the people. Recently she has been trying her hand at making tarts and bread and gooseberry pies – all of which are delicious – but she is desperate to achieve that baker's specific flavor.

She'd even put on a bit of weight recently. He was so happy that she wasn't so skeleton thin from lack of nourishment. She was cooking everyday and eating with everyone so happily that it would have been nearly impossible for her not to put on a little bit of healthy weight. She had mentioned though that she was worried that some of her dresses weren't fitting properly or too snuggly with her recent gain in weight though. He still thought her as beautiful, because she was, and she only glowed in health with her recent gain.

"Maybe I should try taking her into town. . ." He murmured as he watched her emerge from the cottage. She was in a casual blue sundress, he loved the color on her, with a white apron tied at her front with a bandana pulling all of her curls out of her face. Her hair had gotten much longer too recently. He loved the length on her. She always kept her hair short and close to her head, which was still lovely, but now her curls brushed her shoulders and Adam had a little more to play with whenever they were in lessons or reading together. . .

A small heat rose to his face which he wiped away with his hand as he continued to climb the hill. He could hear her singing as she walked outside with the basket of laundry in her arms. She regularly did the Dwarves laundry, and though he did not like that, he did not say anything since she wanted to do it for them since they built them their cottage. He couldn't argue her with that, but she also cleaned their filthy house on top of it too. The place has gotten much better, but it was still just an extra thing that he wished she didn't have to do; even if she chose to do it herself.

He walked as softly as he could so as not to alarm her and just watched in the shade of their tree as she hung up socks. He couldn't help but notice the constant light in her eyes since they came out here. She was always happy, truly happy without a forced smile on her face. They had even gotten closer over the past month, and she was much more forward than what he ever anticipated from her. She would often times hold his hand while they were reading or in lessons and would even take his gloves off to do so. It terrified him each time she touched his exposed skin, but he could never deny the fact he loved the sensation of her hand being in his, skin on skin. It was only holding hands, but it was enough to drive him crazy and make him red in the face every time; especially when she would lay her pretty little head on his chest or shoulder.

She finished hanging up the socks and turned to return to the house when she saw Adam standing there. There was surprise at first, but then her smile soon replaced it.

"There you are." She beamed brighter than the morning sun. "Good morning, Adam."

"Good morning, my dear, Snow White." He met her halfway and took her basket from her. "What are you doing today?"

"After the Dwarves clothes I need to wash and hang the sheets." She answered as she walked beside him. "I think tomorrow Dopey is going to stay here and show me where their berry fields are."

"Berry fields?"

"The Dwarves were telling me that they usually make jams or jellies around this time, but they've been doing overtime in the mines and haven't been able to get out to the berry fields."

"That so?" He felt as though they were using that as an excuse to help give her something to do as well as to have another delicious thing made by her.

"Are you still going to do your perimeter check today?" She teased lightly.

"Already done." He smirked. "I can help you with laundry and if you'd like. . . I think we can go into town today."

"Really?" She stopped and looked wide-eyed at him.

"You don't want to?"

"I'd love to!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him. "Oh, I'm so excited!"

"We have to get the laundry done first, though."

"Of course!" She giggled airily as they went inside to grab the other baskets of laundry.

Adam could hardly fathom how they had so many socks and so little shirts! He had already hung so many up already, but the baskets never seemed to stop supplying them!

"I think I'll need to make them some more clothes." Snow White giggled as she hung socks up. "A lot of their clothes have holes and need patches. I could probably make them each a wardrobe with their socks."

"I wouldn't doubt it." He chuckled.

"Still, though, Sneezy makes wonderful socks." She hummed. "He's offered to knit me a pair in whatever color I'd like. He just has to get more yarn for it. . . Maybe we can pick some up while we're in town today."

"Is there anything you'd like to get while we're in town?" He asked casually.

"Nothing in particular." She shrugged. "I just think it would be nice to see Apfel again. . ."

"We might run into Frederick." He would make sure that they would.

"I would love to see him." She smiled brightly. "I hope he's doing well, I mean since he lost his job and the terrible news that he brought us. . ."

Her brow furrowed and Adam frowned. There was no way he could keep the news of Florian's death and Frederick's lack of job. She actually cried when she found out that Florian died. Adam was stunned by that. How could she weep in grief for a man who raised a hand against her and tried to kill her? He could hardly fathom the lengths of her kindness sometimes.

As they continued to hang up the socks and laundry and sheets, Adam felt this annoying presence that made him feel as though he were being watched. He turned and scanned the tree line. It was not easy to see him, but low and behold the very Mr. V himself stood in the shadows of the Dark Forest's tree line. He gritted his teeth. He even had the gall to wave at him.

"I think that's about everything." Snow White clapped her hands together.

"Why don't you go get ready then." He flashed he ra quick smile. "I'm going to check the perimeter again before we leave.

"Don't take too long." She practically sang as she scooped up the basket and ran inside.

He waited until she entered the cottage before turning on his heel and going to meet Mr. V.

What is he doing here?

Why is he checking up on me?

What does he want?

Had he done something wrong?

"Ah, Mr. Adam Apple Poison." Mr. V smiled broadly at him, far too casually. Adam did not smile in return but frowned deeply with his hands balled into fists at his sides.

"What are you doing here?" He spoke in a low growl. He just wanted Mr. V to leave.

"At ease, my friend." He put his hand over his chest in mock hurt. "I'm not here to do anythin', I'm just here to check on you."

"Yeah, fat chance of that." Adam's scoffed and found his temper ascending quickly.

"Whatever you think of me, Adam, I reassure you that I am only here to check up on you." He spoke seriously to Adam.

He still didn't relax, he couldn't. Snow White was too close for something to possibly happen.

"You haven't been back to the Anti-Realm for practically a month, closer to month and a half really, but I don't exactly know how time works here –"

"I'm not going back." Adam said flatly. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He was determined to stay here now. "If you are here to demand that I do, you're wasting your time."

"Testy testy." He tutted with a knowing smirk. "It looks as though someone has gotten very infatuated with the little princess." He chuckled.

Adam didn't deny it. He couldn't deny it. Why would he? He was very infatuated with Snow White and he would never let another soul have her.

"Well, well, well, no denyin' it?"

"There's no point in denying things when they're true." His hands clenched tighter.

"Nothin' wrong with that, my friend." He looked Adam up and down. As much as he hated to admit it, he could see no judgement in the man's eyes. "No judgment here," He shrugged. "If you knew anything with my background, you'd know I was in the same boat once upon a time. . . but there was a prince to interfere. . ."

"I'm just trying to protect her." Adam answered weakly, his mouth dry. For whatever reason the fact that he was aware of his infatuation with her made him feel exposed. No matter of his infatuation, though, he could not be with her as he was at the moment. "Because of what I am I can never be with her . . ."

"What you are?" Mr. V raised an eyebrow in question.

"All the poison." He looked down and his fists released. "She's suffered her own amount of poison damage over the years, but she would never be able to handle mine. . ." He could hardly handle it himself some days. "I couldn't bear it if something were to happen. . ."

"The tragedy of love has greatly stricken you, my friend." Mr. V sighed and rested his arms over his cane. "But you shouldn't worry about it too much."

"And why is that?" He stood straighter, almost ready for the fight to come.

"Because unlike me who had no one to ensure a helping hand." He straightened himself out and dusted his coat off. "I can help you."

"And why would you do that?" Adam narrowed his eyes. He hated to ask for assistance in anything unless it was absolutely necessary. And help like this never came free. . .

"I gotta get this story movin' along, Adam." Mr/ V simply smirked at him. "I know you're pretty detail oriented and stuff, but you're really dragging this out." He explained.

"What are you –" His brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Look, my friend, all is not lost in your tragic romance." He continued. "There is a way to get rid of your poison."

Adam stood in anticipation of him to tell him the answer he had spent an entire month seeking.

"There should be a book that you borrowed from my library at one point in time that has a unique series of spell that are equally helpful as well as harmful." Mr. V explained.

"The one with the Transfer spell. . ." He already had the book with him. It was still in his messenger bag in his room.

"Ah, so you are aware of it." He smiled proudly. "Good, that'll save me a little bit of explanation. How much have you read? Do you understand how it works?"

"I've read it." He nodded his head and crossed his arms. Far too many times. "But I have to have something of 'exact measurement' for this to work."

"Oh, well you won't have to worry about that for too long." Mr. V chuckled and twirled his cane. "You'll probably be meeting him soon."

"Him?" Adam glared. He knew there was a catch to the information gained; there always was.

"Hey, Adam." He stared him dead in the eyes, as if he was trying to convey something to him that he could not outrightly say. "Have you ever wondered what you'd look like with green eyes?"

"No." His brow furrowed in confusion. What was he trying to say?

"Good." Mr. V shrugged as if his message meant nothing and snatched up his cane. "You'd look good with green eyes."

"What is that –"

"Be on the watch for unfamiliar familiar things within the forest, my friend." Mr. V offered. "I can't offer more help than that, but just be careful when you go into the forest."

"What are you planning?" Adam narrowed his eyes at him. He couldn't trust this man, but he had to.

"Absolutely nothing." He tapped his cane and a portal swirled behind him. "Just be sure you don't wander too far from your cottage or else you might regret it. . ."

Before Adam could question him further, Mr. V stepped back into the portal leaving Adam to question many things. He had no idea what to do with this information. Was this person about to come for he and Snow White? He couldn't cancel their outing since he just asked her to go out for the day; she would be too disappointed now.

He climbed the hill again and his heart nearly stopped as the giddy Snow White exited their cottage with her cloak about her, a basket on her wrist, and brown boots on her feet. She still wore the blue sundress and apron and looked so beautiful to him. She was far too happy and excited about going for him to cancel now.

"Are you ready?" He asked with a smile, though he felt extremely tired.

"Yes." She smiled and tapped her boots on the ground. "Grumpy gave me these pair of boots so I wouldn't have to worry about ruining my other shoes and clogs. He said they were an old pair he never could quite fit."

"That was generous of him." He noted how especially brand new they looked and not at all old. She needed proper shoes for being up in the mountains, and he was grateful that she had them; especially since they were going to have quite the hike.

"They fit just right." She walked up to him. "Are we good to go?"

"Yes." He nodded his head and held out his arm to her. She grabbed his arm, but instead of looping her arm through his, she let her hand fall until their hands met and she intertwined them together. His face was far too warm and she was far too giggly at him. He didn't grumble nor complain because all that mattered was that she was happy, even if it was at his expense, and he would keep her safe.

She did much better than he truly thought she would in keeping up with him through all the paths. He was only jealous of her slightly when all she had to do with the overhanging trees was duck instead of having to move them entirely out of the way. Adam had thought of cutting them down several times, but if someone were to follow them into the forest, he would not want to give them any assistance in finding them. He did have to help her over the tall and wide logs and over the watery areas so she did not slip and fall. At every chance she had she always made sure their hands were connected, even if he released it for a moment her little hand quickly found his. He loved it.

She was surprisingly quiet and just seemed to take everything in, as if she were committing it to memory in case she wanted to leave on her own. That thought terrified him. If he could he would lock her away where they could be in a paradise and never have to worry again about the Evil Queen or any other danger in the world. But that would only be a temporary happiness for her, he knew this, she liked to do too much, she liked to experience life; dangers and all. It was only when they reached the fork in the road that she finally spoke.

"My goodness that was so long." She stretched her arms over her head as they paused to take a break. "No wonder you don't make this trip often."

"It was much more difficult to find in the dark." He commented and she blinked at him.

"This is the path you took that night?"

"In a roundabout way. . ." Or not at all. He ran out of the castle blindly and got lost in the Dark Forest twice as blind with the rain and deeper darkness.

"No wonder you never made it back the next day. . ." She murmured.

"Let's not think on that." He didn't like to talk about that day. He would never forget it because he nearly failed her.

"No, let's think about the tarts from the baker." She smiled as her little hand slipped into his again.

"Yes, those delicious tarts." He agreed as they walked. "Is there any flavor you want in particular?"

"Apple of course." She hummed. "I love cherry just as much, but I love apple best." She suddenly looked up at him. "You always smell of apples to me."

"You've said that once before." He felt a small chill run through him. The fact she smelled the White Apple Poison on him concerned him greatly. Though she liked the scent it was still toxic and could have bad effects on her; which meant he wasn't controlling his toxins as well as he thought. He needed to find a way to seriously get rid of the poisons. . . He was aware that is wasn't impossible, but it definitely was not simple either.

"I have always liked the smell of apples." She explained as she turned her attention to her feet as they walked. "They're part of happy memories for me. My apple tree in the castle was actually my mother's. . . My real mother. She planted it while she was pregnant with me, or so my father told me. It was part of her tradition to plant a tree, fruit or flower bearing, during a pregnancy to mark the passing nine months of the baby growing in the belly, and to mark mile stones as the child grew up. Part of the superstition of the tree planting was that it could predict a child's life."

"Predict the child's life?" He raised his eyebrow at her tale.

"Yes." She nodded with a sad smile. "Apparently it was very accurate for my mother's people. If the seed never took to the soil then the mother was to have a miscarriage; If the tree sprouted but never grew then the child would die early; If the tree grew but did not bear fruit then the child would be barren as it became an adult; If the tree grew and bore plenty of fruit then the child was to have a plentiful and bountiful life."

"That's a lot of predicting for a tree to do." Adam did not scoff, though he did not find it to be very likely to be true. It would be very jarring if that were the case.

"Of course, there are somethings that are out of the tree's control." She forced a laugh and her hand went to her stomach. "Unless the tree has been tampered with to cause a different prediction, there's little outside fate that the tree itself can do. I am the prime example of that. . . My apple tree is bountiful with fruit, but I will be barren for the rest of my life –"

"You don't know that." Adam said firmly and stopped.

"Adam, that's sweet of you." She tried to smile up at him, but tears brimmed at the edges of those doe brown eyes and her smile faltered. "But you don't truly know –"

"I know what happened to you." His voice was soft. He did not want to scold her. His hand gently went to her face and caressed her cheek, turning her focus solely on him. "And though there is damage, there is more hope for you than you may realize."

"Adam please." She shut her eyes tight, as if she didn't want to hear what he had to say.

"You have the hopes that I will rid myself of the poisons that plague me." He urged. "I have the hopes that you will bear the children that you so desperately want one day."

"A-And if I can't?" Her voice cracked and it was weak.

"We will adopt a child." If that was what she wanted he would do so. "As many children as you want."

"'We'?" She sniffled and the brightest smile shined on her face.

"Of course, 'we'." He felt his face burn and his heart hammered in his chest at her smile. "I will not allow another man to have you. I have sworn to protect you I plan to for the entirety of my life. And I will do everything within my power to build a happy and peaceful future for us. So, yes, once things are safe and I can promise that I can be with you, it will be a future where we can make choices together."

She threw her arms around his waist and clung to him so tightly he gasped for breath. He slowly enclosed her in his arms and she only tried to hug him tighter. He didn't know what to say, or what to do, really. He simply allowed her to do as she pleased, hugging him to her heart's content, and he patted her back.

She slowly released him, and her hands went to his and squeezed them tightly. She had such a happy smile on her face. A true happy face where she was almost angelic with how much light was beaming from her. Those red lips simply begging for attention that he wanted to give. . .

"You truly are the best thing that could ever have happened to me, Adam." She held his hands to her cheeks. His arms were tense, but loose to allow her to do as she pleased. He would never understand how she felt this greatly for him, nor how she had managed to make him feel so greatly for her. He really needed to set some sort of boundary; one day. "You will never know the amount of hope you give me."

And you will never know the amount of hope you give me, and happiness, and boldness, and lo-

"I am glad I can be of assistance." He smiled at her and slowly pulled his hands away from her face. She refused to let go of his hands, though. He held her hand tightly in his own and led her to the path that would take her into the town of Apfel. The walk would still be long, but if they were lucky at all they would catch a ride on the wagon of travelling farmers riding into town.

Little was said between them as they walked the path that led to the farmers' fields. They indeed got very lucky and caught a wagon ride with chattering children for Snow White to surround herself with. She loved every second she had with the children. She braided a little blonde girl's hair; she played pattycake with the red haired toddler; she laid back on the floor of the wagon to look up at the sky and exchange what she saw in the clouds with the boys on either side of her. Adam merely sat at the edge and watched over her and made sure that neither she or any of the chattering children fell out of the wagon. A small child, a girl with tiny curls and green eyes sat beside him and rested on him as her sibling splayed and talked with Snow White. Adam neither shooed or shunned the sleepy child and allowed her to sleep beside him for the remainder of the ride.

As Adam sat and watched the love and joy that Snow White shared with the children and even the sleeping one beside him, Adam allowed himself to consider a very different future for both he and Snow White. He, truth be told, was not fond of children, though the sleeping one beside him was certainly an exception and did his best to avoid them. They were innocent beings that the old hag liked to prey upon along with teenage girls. Other than their loud and willy ways of childish antics that he could hardly tolerate, there were years of guilt and grief that added layers to his walls every time he saw a small child. Yet here he sat debating on the possibilities of children. . . Oh the confliction within him, especially since he just promised an unknown hope to Snow White.

All odds weighed against her having children, both he and she knew that, but he would do anything and everything he could to give her what she wanted. He would even talk to the Dwarves about their special magic to see if there is anything they can do, or even give her a better examination where they could properly judge what scenario would be best for them. . . That was, of course, assuming that he could even produce a child himself. Yes, it was crucial for the woman to bear the child, but the man also had to be able to produce as well. Heat rose on his face as a frown fell on his lips. He had never once given that a thought since he had never intended to have children, but now that he thought on such things he wondered how much damage the poisons and toxins could have possibly done to his body. . .

The wagon came to a halt and all the children, Snow White included, hopped out very excitedly. The children prepared to unload while Snow White walked around where Adam sat and the child still resting on him napped. She assisted him in removing the child from his side and carried the groggy child over to her mother. He smiled softly at her before coming up on her right and escorting her inside the village before she could play with the children any longer than she already had. She came much more willingly that he thought she would, and her previous energy only seemed to double as she ended up holding him by the hand, dragging him through the streets to get to where she wanted to go.

She plopped into several fruit stalls, vegetable stalls, and even made her way to the bakery. The bakery was just as packed full today as it was the first time he met her. It was crowded all the way to the door with no room to move that not even a mouse could squeeze into. Nonetheless, Snow White dragged them both inside and made her way to the baker while everyone else shimmied and shoved to get to the checkout counter. Oh how Adam hated crowds. . .

Snow White, thankfully, was able to speak to the baker and tell him her requests and demands and the baker much obliged to her requests. He seemed both surprised and enthused to see her after hardly seeing her for almost two months. Though Adam saw it as bad business, the baker gave Snow White her order before the other barking customers and even allowed them to pay in the back rather than the front. Adam paid for the baked goods and nearly carried Snow White out of there he walked so fast. She only laughed at him as he carried the bags and bundles of fruits and vegetables that she bought. She practically skipped around him in circles she was so happy.

"Oh, I've missed Apfel so much!" She giggled with a satisfied sigh to follow.

"I didn't notice." He snorted down at her as he led her to his small house for them to stop in and take a break. He hoped that Frederick would be in so they could visit with him for a while. Not for too long, though, they really needed to get back to the Dwarves' cottage, they already spent too much time here.

"Surely you jest." She bubbled in laughter as she clung to his arm and held his hand while carrying her own basket on her arm.

"But of course." He smiled down at her as she pressed her head to his arm.

"I only hope that Frederick is as excited to see us as we are to see him." She chimed as they stopped in front of the house. "It's been so long since we've seen him . . ."

"it's been so long since we've been here." He led the way up to his house. The boards creaked under his feet and the door opened with no problem. He frowned that Frederick had not locked it, though he was rather grateful since his arms were full.

The house was quiet, chilly even for a hot summer day, and felt as though it was not used. The house was tidy, there was no dust or cobwebs, but it was very lonely as if someone hadn't really been living there. The curtains were drawn over the windows and pinned shut with wooden clothes pins, as if to shut out all forms of life and light.

"You're sure he's been living here?" Snow White asked as she too looked around the place and noticed that it hadn't been lived in.

"Unless he moved without telling me, yes." He nodded as they made their way to the kitchen.

The kitchen was warm, as if it had been used frequently, and had a bit more life and light to it than the rest of the house. The curtains were loosely closed and there were no clothes pins to be found. Snow White became a little more chipper as she bustled about the kitchen by putting tea into the kettle, adding wood to the small wood burning stove, and setting up teacups to drink from. Adam set the groceries down on the table and left her to her own devices and decided to go and explore the house a bit. He could not help but worry that something could have gone wrong. He could not help but feel as though being in this very house was wrong, as if they shouldn't have come into town at all; at least he shouldn't have brought Snow White into town anyways.

As soon as he left the kitchen, he could hear her hum and sing as she worked. A small smile cracked on his face before returning to a flat line as he climbed the stairs. Much to his relief he could see that the bed had been used recently as if had not been made and there were men's shirts hanging up on a string from the banisters. Although Frederick was not there presently, Adam could tell that he was at least attempting the bare minimum of eating, bathing, and sleeping at the house. He turned to leave and immediately noticed that the vanity mirror was covered. His heart nearly froze. Though he was no longer in the castle, he still could not seem to rid himself of mirrors; a specific Mirror, in fact. He ever so quietly returned downstairs to avoid any sort of confrontation that could come from the Mirror.

As he descended the stairs, he noticed that Snow White wasn't humming nor singing. He didn't even hear shuffling or movement from the kitchen. Holding his breath, he cautiously edged himself along the wall to the kitchen. He wanted to run, but it something or someone were in the kitchen he didn't want to alarm them, nor did he want to put Snow White in danger; that thought alone was enough to make him want to run in there. Once he was at the threshold of the kitchen, he peered inside to see that Snow White was sitting at the table scribbling away in her red journal.

His heart nearly stopped in relief and his lungs nearly gave out as he released his breath and began to breathe again. She had only stopped humming to write in her journal. He felt both ridiculous as well as foolish for being so paranoid. He almost couldn't help it though, between Mr. V's visit and the hint he tried to give him and the chance of being followed out of town plagued him with worry. Had he not already promised Snow White a visit into town and had he not hated to disappoint her he would have found some way of keeping her at the cottage; he should have found a way of keeping her at the cottage. He felt all of the threats and dangers of Apfel targeting them just by being in the house. It was almost suffocating to think about.

He remained quiet so as not to disturb her and instead propped himself against the doorway and watched her write. She was so cute the way her brow furrowed in concentration. She mouthed the letters as she slowly and carefully wrote in her journal, it made him very curious to know what she was writing; but he would never pry into her privacy without her consent. She dotted the end of her sentence before sitting up, bringing the journal to her face and blowing carefully on the still wet ink. Oh, how his heart could sing with the cuteness of her entire being. His hand subconsciously went to his chest and poked at it, as if to calm it down or tell it to man up. When she finished assisting the ink's drying process, she carefully tucked her quill into the journal before closing it and burying at the bottom of her basket.

Once her journal was secured into the basket she looked up and saw Adam. Her eyes widened for a second before she let out a breath of air and placed her hand over her chest.

"Goodness me, you startled me." She laughed airily as she caught her breath. "I-I didn't hear you come in."

"Come in?" He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Weren't you outside?" She tilted her head curiously and Adam's heart stopped. "I thought I saw you outside."

"No." He shook his head as dread instantly filled him. "I went upstairs to see if –"

Suddenly the backdoor knob rattled and shook as someone tried to enter. Adam immediately rushed to the door, and as he grabbed the doorknob it swung open and Frederick's head peeked inside. He was covered in sweat and grease and smoke and his hair looked as though it had been charred.

"Frederick!" Snow White called from behind Adam; he silently cursed the fact that she did not hide in the kitchen.

"Princess?" Frederick blinked in surprise as he looked between Adam and Snow White upon entering his temporary home. "Prince?"

"Oh, it's good to see you!" She bounced over to him and gave him a quick hug.

"Uh, it's good to see you too, Princess." He took off a black leather glove and patted the top of her head while staring Adam down. "What brings you down the mountain?"

"We needed to pick up a few groceries." Snow White beamed as she rejoined Adam's side. Adam held her hand boldly in front of Frederick, who smirked at their hands, but soon frowned up at him.

"You could have just told me, and I would have gotten things for you." Frederick spoke to Adam.

"Yes, but we hadn't really discussed another meeting time. . ." Adam responded weakly so as not to alarm Snow White.

"Fair enough." Frederick tugged his other glove off then sniffed the air. "Is that tarts I smell?"

"Fresh from the baker." Snow White smiled. "I'll go make us some tea."

Frederick held out his smile until Snow White disappeared into the kitchen before casting a glare on Adam. Adam squared his shoulders as he glared back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing bringing her here?" Frederick hissed as he slapped his gloves down on the small table beside the door. "Have you gone mad?"

"I'm perfectly sane, Frederick." Adam said briskly, his hands quickly balling into fists.

"Then did you forget about the dangers that are waiting for her the moment she returns?" Frederick stepped closer and was a few inches from Adam's face.

"I could never forget." Adam responded through gritted teeth. "I hadn't planned on actually bringing her this far into town –"

"Don't even try to lie to me, Adam." Frederick grabbed the collar of his coat and slammed him against the wall. It wasn't forceful or even powerful, but it definitely shocked Adam that Frederick would dare to do something like this and that he even had the strength to push him back like this. "Your doppelganger has been following me for weeks now, waiting to see if I'm going into the mountains or not."

"Then why was your front door unlocked?" Adam removed Frederick's hands from his coat.

"The door was unlocked?" Frederick's attention went to the door and he walked over to it. He twisted the knob a few times, opened it, closed it, opened it again before crouching down to see if there were anything wrong with the lock. "The bastard. . ." Frederick hissed and closed the door tightly. "He's more clever than I thought. . ."

"What?"

"He picked the lock and stuck a piece of metal into it to keep it from locking." His mouth was a firm line and for the first time Adam was getting a really good look at the man who was the Hunter, who was the Queen's First Knight. He planned ahead, made careful steps, had daily habits, and did not break those rituals. He was stronger than Adam had originally judged him for. He also stood here looking on the brink of breaking because his plans did not go accordingly. Adam could see that their visit would not be long, just in case Frederick wanted to snap.

"This has been going on for a while now?"

"The metal pieces in the lock?" He scowled at Adam and crossed his arms. "No, but there have been different forms of breaking and entering that he's unsuccessfully tried."

"Like what?"

Frederick suddenly held up his hand and looked to the window. On the other side of the curtain on the other side of the window stood a man, a little shorter since he stood on the ground, but from what Adam could see and what he could judge, he had the same build as Adam. It was a little difficult to make him out through the pinned curtains, but from the growing dark aura, Adam knew he was not welcomed here.

"Grünes." Frederick hissed and the man darted. "Get her out of here. Now."

Just as quickly as he came Frederick left much faster as he set out on his chase.

"What's going on?" Snow White poked her head out of the kitchen with a small tea tray.

"Frederick just forgot something at work." Adam spoke quickly with a nervous smile. "He said we should just go on ahead up the mountain because he more than likely wouldn't be back until tonight."

"But he just got here." Her brow furrowed as she looked at Adam.

"And he just left." Adam gently eased her into the kitchen. "I'll go grab the groceries, why don't you clean up and then we'll head out?"

"Don't worry about leaving just yet." Frederick huffed as he reentered the backdoor. He propped himself up against it, breathing heavily and glistening in sweat.

"Is your work close by?" Snow White asked just as chipper as ever.

"What?" He panted and glanced at Adam.

"Did you have the tool on you and you just didn't realize it?" Adam cut in above her head.

"Y-Yeah." Frederick's brow was furrowed in confusion. He pulled a small metal pick from his pocket. "Didn't realize I had it on me."

"I'll just set up in the living room." Snow White hummed as she walked past Adam and into the living room.

"She's far too quick for my liking sometimes." Adam sighed as Frederick reentered his house, closed the door behind him and locked it up tight.

"She knows when something's up." Frederick nodded as he managed to get his breathing under control.

"I assume you didn't catch him?"

"He's faster than a wild pig." Frederick huffed. "Grünes was gone before I even made it out of the house."

"That's not good." Adam pursed his lips.

"No, it's not." Frederick agreed.

"Adam, Frederick." Snow White poked her head out of the living room. "The tea will get cold."

"I could use some tea." Frederick threw on a smile as he and Adam both turned into the living room.

While the men entered the small sitting and living room, Snow White already poured the tea into cups and even had three little plates prepped with the tarts. Had the situation at hand not just become so dangerous and serious Adam would more than likely be ready to burst at the seams of her happiness. As much as he wanted to be as happy as she was, his eyes kept going to the windows then to Frederick who eased himself into his seat and attempted to appear calm. He only hoped that he did appear calm to Snow White, Adam could only see the constant tension spinning within him.

"I hope you like it." Snow White smiled as she handed Frederick his teacup.

"I know I will." He flicked a quick smile before taking a quick sip.

Snow White smiled then took her seat beside Adam and carefully balanced her teacup in her lap.

"So, how have you been?" Snow White started as she nibbled on her apple tart.

"As well as I can, princess." He responded as he took a large bite from his own tart. "If I would have known you two were coming by I would have made sure to stay a little cleaner. Though, staying clean is rather difficult as a smithy."

"You're helping the blacksmith?" Snow White blinked in surprise.

"I'm working as a blacksmith." Frederick nodded in response. "It's good work. My uncle once did it, I helped him a long time ago. There's far too many farmers around here and not enough smithies."

"What do you mean?"

"The poor man has more work on fixing farmers' broken tools, forming horseshoes, and recreating skillets that he never gets to the bottom of pile with the orders."

"Oh, my goodness." Snow White's brow furrowed. "Is there truly that many farmers?"

"You can't entirely blame the farmers, princess." Frederick smiled gently. "They have to plow the land, provide for their families, as well as make a living to pay their taxes. The blacksmith has lost several apprentices and he only has daughters and won't allow many young lads to work for him."

"But he's accepted you?"

"I've explained my case." Frederick shrugged and sipped his tea. Adam could only imagine the different scenarios where Frederick actually explained himself. He more or less used his absent authority of the First Knight and Hunter to the Queen to his advantage; not that the blacksmith really knew that he lost his position.

"And there isn't another blacksmith?"

"There was one in the villages outside the walls." Frederick sighed. "He passed away about a year ago and now all the villagers come into town to get their tools fixed and everything else they need too."

"Is the Queen aware of this dilemma?" Snow White persisted.

"More than likely not." Frederick pursed his lips and shook his head. "The Queen rarely sees her subjects, and even those who do make an audience with her have to wait an exaggerated amount of time where they just left without being able to state their problems."

"Well that's not good." She said flatly and sipped her tea. Both Frederick and Adam could only sit and stare at Snow White as they both were seeing the smallest of glimpses of Snow White being angry. With another sip of her tea and another nibble of her tart, she let out a little huff before smiling sweetly and all of her anger just dissipated. Adam would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed that she hadn't gotten any more angry, he thought that it was a really cute look for her, yet at the same time he much preferred that she be happy.

"How are things where the two of you are staying?" Frederick glanced over his cup at Adam.

"Fine." Adam said simply. "We're safe and tucked away. So, we're fine."

"Oh, it's so lovely there in the mountains, Frederick!" She gushed and Adam was relieved that she seemed to have gone back to her normal self. "The air is so clean, the view is so beautiful, and the Dwarves are so nice!"

"Dwarves?" Frederick looked to Adam. "I didn't know you were familiar with the Dwarves."

"As in their race all together, I am not familiar with them at all." Adam shook his head. "However, I have run into them a number of times where we are nice enough acquaintances."

"They are truly skilled in enchantments." Frederick noted.

"They are truly skilled in whatever they do with their hands." Snow White butted in. "They have the prettiest hand carvings I have ever seen! They're even building us a cottage!"

Adam nearly spat out his tea.

Frederick actually spat out his tea.

Snow White nearly spilled her tea as her face changed several shades of red and her teacup began to shake.

"N-N-N-N-Not that anything has h-h-h-h-happened!" She stammered and shoved the rest of her tart in her mouth.

Frederick burst out laughing, Snow White's face only turned redder, and even Adam could feel only heat growing in the room.

"We're both too tall for the Dwarves' cottage." Adam explained and pulled at the collar of his shirt to allow a small breeze to pass. "They're being kind enough to build us a cottage with separate rooms during our stay."

"Well, how kind of them." Frederick snorted and let loud guffaws of laughter. He continued to laugh while Snow White tried to hide her face in her hands, and well Adam couldn't deny that he was probably just as embarrassed; he only hoped he was not as red as his princess.

Much to Adam Frederick's relief, the visit did not last much longer after that and Adam and Snow White had to make their hike up the mountain. As the day seemed to end so did their luck because they were not able to catch a wagon ride back and had a very very long walk ahead of them. Snow White was a good sport about not complaining and doing her best to keep up, but Adam knew she was exhausted, he was tired. But the mountain was miles longs and they still had miles to go.

Snow White neither grumbled or complained nor asked to take a break. Adam did his best to walk at a slower pace so she did not have to push too hard, but the mountains were not that generous. By the time they came to the fork in the road the sun was practically running to hide behind the other side of the mountain and making things darker. The wind had been teasing about getting stronger as they climbed the mountain, but now that things were getting darker and the clouds were getting grayer, Adam begrudgingly anticipated rain. He had grown real exhausted with rain as of late.

"Why is it already trying to get dark?" Snow White forced a laugh between her pants as they stopped at the fork in the road.

"Because the sun likes to be difficult." He huffed as he dropped down behind the fork. Once he had secured his landing, he dropped the bundles of groceries and held his arms out to Snow White. She was currently propped up against the fork post, trying to catch her breath and wiping her sweat from her brow.

"We should have left sooner." She admitted.

"Yes, but I wanted you to enjoy your time in town." He chuckled and clapped his hands on his hips.

"How much farther?" She held her hand to her brow and tried to look through the dark trees of the Dark Forest.

"Not much." He supplied. "But we do have to hurry it we want to beat the sun, and the weather."

"I know." She nodded her head and tried to catch her breath. "I just need a moment to catch my breath. I hadn't realized how much I needed it until I stopped."

"At least come down here." He held his hands and arms out to her. "It's cooler here and I don't like you being so far away from me."

Her face flushed a quick shade of pink and she smiled broadly.

"Are their footholds?" She asked looking for a place to put her feet.

"Just jump." He urged; he really didn't like her being up there without him. "I'll catch you."

She hooked her arm through her basket and clutched her hand to her cloak. It was maybe eight or ten feet of a jump, which wasn't very high for Adam, but he could only imagine how it was to her. With a soft shimming of her feet she pushed herself from the post and landed in Adam's arms. She stayed straight as she came to him and he caught her as if he had just picked her up from the ground, only her face was much closer to his and her bosom was pressed against his; he prayed she couldn't hear or feel the pounding rhythm of his heart.

He held her fast and strong against him and loved that she was in his arms. She was safe now. Her little hands held his shoulders and those doe brown eyes were looking deeply into his own. She was safe, but now she was far too close. Adam wanted to turn his gaze away from her, but he wouldn't because that would be rude and that showed a sign of weakness. Adam was not weak, and he would remain strong, even in front of the woman who made him weak and gave him something that provided him with strength.

"You caught me." She giggled as a pink blush made her cheeks very rosy.

"I will always catch you, my darling." He spoke sincerely and was very aware how close those red lips were.

"Then I shall always rely on you." She smiled beneath her blush and buried her face into his shoulder. He was very grateful that she did because he was not aware of how much longer he could hold out from those red lips. Quietly taking a deep breath to calm his raging heart, he carefully set her on the ground.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, she released her hold of him and leaned against the dirt wall. Adam proceeded to pick up the bundles of groceries.

"Shall we continue?" He asked as he studied her. They really needed to get going, but he also didn't want to push her. She was more than likely at her limits already and she didn't need to push much farther.

"I think we should." She nodded her head. "I would hate to get caught up in the rain."

"It's not fun." He smirked as he allowed her to lead the way. "I speak from experience."

"I would especially hate for you to get sick again." She sighed ahead of him. "Being sick is never fun."

"True." He admitted. "But in the long scheme of things, I think it was worth it."

"Hmm." She hummed with a giggle and used her hand to help steer her in the right direction as they walked.

As they climbed the uneven Dwarf paths they fell into a lapse of silence. Snow White was lost in her thoughts while Adam was straining his ears to hear for any signs that they had been followed. Much to his chagrin they were not able to find a ride back which meant they were out in the open for a while and the Grünes character could have seen and followed them at any point. He hadn't been this on edge since he left the Anti-Realm. That thought alone surprised him.

Ever since he came to the Apfel Realm he has only know of beauty and peace and hasn't had to constantly look over his shoulder waiting to be attacked; especially since he at the beginning of all this was supposed to be the attacker. Oh, how things had taken quite the twists and turns to change his life. He had never felt so free and happy before, yet as he allowed his thoughts to drift, he wondered what was the cost of his freedom and his happiness? What a thought, that he could be happy! Still, what was the cost?

Was the older Frederick all right? Or was he suffering in his memories that would never quite be the same?

Was the old had suffering? Or was she enthralled by causing him more pain through challenges?

Had things drastically changed in the Apfel Realm?

Had he completely altered the classic story?

Or had he simply written a different one?

Up until Mr. V decided to make his appearance Adam had scarcely thought of ever returning. Snow White had become such a priority that he never challenged the thought or returning to the hellhole of darkness and anguish he had only ever known up to this point. No, he could never go back, not when so much here waited for him. Whatever would happen after this Adam would accept and take head on. Everything up to now had been his choices and the consequences were of his own making; now he must prove that he was strong enough to carry through his decisions. He would not only for himself, but for her.

"Adam?" Snow White called form up ahead. Adam looked up and saw that she had already made quite the climb and was yards away from him. He had completely slowed his walking to a stop while getting lost in his thoughts. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." He answered and trotted to catch up to her.

"You're sure?" She asked as he approached. "You looked as though you were thinking on something important."

"I was thinking." He admitted with the nod of his head. "However important it was or is has yet to be decided. . ."

"What do you mean?" She continued, making sure to look over her shoulder as she walked now. She didn't want him to get so far behind.

"When I first came here, I was given a mission in which I had to carry out." He censored himself as well as he could. "But so much has changed since then that I'm glad that I abandoned the mission."

"What makes you say that?" Her brow furrowed as she glanced over her shoulder again.

"Up until I arrived here in Apfel, all I have ever done with my life was to carry out vicious orders that made me numb to the idea or sense of living." He stopped and did his best to explain his thoughts to her.

"That's not a very good way to live." She frowned as she too stopped to listen.

"No, it's not." He agreed with a melancholic smile. "And though a part of me is still confused on what to do from here on out, I feel as though I have been given a second chance at living. . . And I don't want to waste it this time."

"Then don't." She said ever so simply. The wind picked up and she put her hand to her hair to keep it from blowing in her face.

He merely smiled at her. He truly loved how honest she was. She never lied to him, and almost always told him what she was thinking. As she stood before him, Adam was truly grateful to be given a second chance at life, and he would do his utmost to protect her and his second chance.

The wind began to howl and blow harder and Snow White frowned.

"We really need to get out of this." She looked all around her.

"Let's keep going." Adam gestured to the path before him. "We're nearly there. If we walk fast enough, we'll be there in half an hour."

With the wind blowing harder becoming deafening almost in a warning to tell them to hurry to safety, Adam could not sense or hear his dark shadow deftly following them through the Dark Forest. . .

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you've been enjoying the story so far!

We're getting dangerously close to the end. I feel as though this was a longer chapter, and for those of you who find it a little to extensive of reading I apologize to, however, I felt as though it were necessary because of everything that transpired in this chapter. There were a few spots that I considered to be good stopping points, but I just didn't like the flow of them. So we get a long chapter instead.

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter Forty-two

GRIMHILDE

An entire month had passed since Snow White and Adam have completely disappeared.

An entire month had passed since she received a grievance letter from the Kingdom of Franca about the death of their precious prince. She sent flowers and other forms of apologies as well as condolences and they've not had contact with each other since. Which for the entirety of the kingdom was good, however, she was beyond bored with the silence in the castle.

An entire month has passed, and she has forgone any forms of black magic since her newest toy Grünes came into existence. She tolerated his presence and enjoyed having someone who would listen to her every command without question, but she hated the fact that he could not speak, and she could not carry on a conversation with him. Not that she needed him to speak, or think for that matter, she only needed him to be the loyal servant that he was.

An entire month had passed and there had been no hide or hair or even a letter from Frederick since she banished him from the kingdom. She wasn't sure what she really expected; in truth she had hoped his stubborn nature would make him stay. The silence and his lack of presence was deafening and her world around her only seemed to grow darker with each passing day. Even the Mirror spoke less and less to her with each passing day. She wasn't sure if her powers were diminishing or if something had entirely gone wrong.

Her hands had gained wrinkles.

Her nails kept growing despite how much she filed them.

Her body felt heavier each day she got out of bed and she no longer wanted to take walks but sit down instead; she no longer thirsted for blood and only seemed to stomach juices from prunes.

She had discovered a few moles on her neck and one that would not leave her nose.

Her nose had been growing, as well as her ears, and certain parts of her skin seemed to be stretched and flabby.

The worst, however, was the fact she found a silver hair with each passing day. That alone was to set her off and put her on edge. She was glad she had a cowl to cover her hair, but she had to close curtains or lock herself away in her room to make sure no one saw her in her haggard state. Whatever had happened, whatever had gone wrong with the spell, it was costing her greatly. She lost more and more of her youth with each day and she was growing too exhausted to do anything about it. She hated this.

Gritting her teeth and instilling her resolve, she pushed herself from her throne and forced herself to walk to her vanity mirror. It was the middle of the day and she would have some privacy while Grünes was out making his usually rounds in searching for any signs of the three. Her steps were uneven despite her using the wall and bed posts as a form of support. If this was what getting older what supposed to be like then she wanted none of it.

"Magic Mirror!" She called as she reached her vanity. Her hands were on the counter holding up her weight while her hair draped about her and she could see the crazed look in her green eyes. "Magic Mirror! I summon thee!"

"There's no need to shout, My Queen." The Mirror droned as he suddenly appeared with a bored expression.

"Then come the first time I call you." She pushed herself to stand straighter. Her hair fell around her and finally moved out of her face.

"Are you well, My Queen?" The Mirror raised an eyebrow at her.

"I most certainly am not!" She snapped glaring at the Mirror. "Even though you are a Mirror, even you can see this haggard appearance that has plagued me!"

"You were aware that great magic comes at great costs." The Mirror said unsympathetically, almost looking down his nose as he did so.

"Surely creating Grünes would not have cost me my youth!"

"That is where you would be wrong, My Queen." The Mirror frowned deeply at her. "For as great a witch as you are, sometimes you fail to read the fine print within the spells."

"What the hell do you mean?" She slammed her fist on the vanity face.

"You used your own blood, per requirement of the spell," He sighed as he explained. "The spell should have been a failure, but because your blood, whether it was truly yours or not, was strong enough it provided whatever was necessary for the small amount of success that could be granted to the creation of Grünes."

"How does that explain why I am ageing?"

"Everyone ages, My Queen."

"Not with how quickly I have been!" She snapped. She pulled at her hair. "I have gray hairs! I have wrinkles! With each passing day I am losing my youth!"

"How many fair and pure maidens did you drink from, My Queen?" The Mirror asked, completely disregarding her frantic antics.

"I never kept count." Her brow furrowed.

"I assumed as much." He rolled his eyes. "With the lack of your judgment and the count I kept I would say you drank at least fifty-three maidens dry."

"Fifty-three?" Her brow wrinkled her entire forehead as she stared at him in complete loss of understanding. "What does that have to do with –"

"Since you used your own blood to create Grünes, you now share blood with him." The Mirror frowned, almost glared at her. "Since your own blood was not enough to keep him standing and walking, the blood of those who you drank from, those fifty-three maidens, have been transferred to him and have sucked fifty-three years of your own life away from you to be transferred to him."

"You can't mean –"

"Oh, yes, my Queen." He chuckled, rather darkly. "Yes, you are suffering the costs of black magic with your life, your youth, as you put it."

"There must be a stop to it!"

"Not so long as both Grünes and Adam live." The Mirror snorted. "The two of them alone, though Adam's was from a different time, are part of the black magic you used to create them both. Those spells, which are only breakable by the two of them, will suck you dry."

"I won't allow it!"

"Well, Grünes specifically will only live as long as you do." The Mirror rolled his head as though he shrugged shoulders. "If you were to die this evening or a few days from now, he would more than likely pass along with you."

"And Adam?"

"You, in another time, were actually able to succeed in creating him, so he is a little more concrete." He answered dismissively. "His doing cannot be undone, except by his own hand."

"Blast it all!" She raked her hands through her hair and began to pull at her hair. "This cannot be!"

"I believe I have told you that such temper tantrums are most unbecoming of a queen, My Queen." He rolled his eyes.

"Like I give a damn!"

"Don't worry, My Queen." He chuckled again, knowingly almost. What did this blasted Mirror know? "There is a solution to your constant problem."

"'Constant problem?'" She scoffed and glared at him, her voice was growing frantic, her hands wouldn't stop shaking; whether from the hysteria or the age catching up with her she couldn't tell. "And what is that?"

"Have you already forgotten?" He tutted disapprovingly. "The Fairest Maiden in all the land, Snow White?"

"What about the brat?" She seethed. "What use is she of me now?"

"Much more than you think." The Mirror swirled and a picture of a skull covered apple replaced his face on the mirror.

"What is this?" She eyed the dangerous apple concerningly.

"A Poisoned Apple." The Mirror explained.

"What use do I have of this?" She snorted. "I have made many of these before to kill Snow White and the worst she ever got was sick for three days; which she survived."

"This is not an ordinary Poisoned Apple spell, My Queen." The Mirror chuckled. "This spell is a sleeping spell. With one bite, the recipient of it will fall into a deep sleep in which they cannot be awakened from on their own, and their youth and magic and very essence will be transferred to the creator of the spell."

"It will not kill her?" Interest was growing and showing evident in her voice.

"It will not kill her." The Mirror's face replaced the face of the mirror. "Snow White will sleep for all eternity."

"This is too perfect. . ." She fell back against her chair and put a hand to her hair. This truly was the answer to her problems! Getting rid of Snow White truly was the answer to her problems!

"However, I will caution you this." The Mirror said grimly. "The spell can be broken by a True Love's Kiss."

The Queen's shoulders shook, and the most maddening of laughter erupted from her. Her hands went to her stomach and her laughs changed from laughter to skin crawling cackling.

"What do you find so amusing, My Queen?" The Mirror asked.

"A True Love's Kiss?" She cackled loudly. "It can never happen! That foolish boy cannot touch her without killing her with his poison!" More cackling, and this time she stood. "The only boy to ever love her, her only hero to even remotely have a chance to save her, cannot because he himself can kill her if he touches her! This is too perfect!"

More laughter and cackling followed as well as booming thunder overhead.

"This news pleases me greatly, Mirror." She mused as she calmed her laughter and sat back in her chair. "Do tell me the recipe for this spell. The sooner I can put Snow White to sleep, the better."

"I agree, My Queen." The Mirror smirked. "Before I tell you the spell, there is one more thing that I must tell you."

"What is it?"

"Grünes has found where Snow White and Adam have been hiding."

* * *

GRÜNES

Mistress has not been good lately. Angrier than normal. She screams at Grünes less and less, though.

She's very sad too. She's changed so much since Grünes was born. She still doesn't like Grünes, but the way she looks keeps changing. She almost looks as though she's dying.

She sent Grünes out on the same task every day since Grünes brought her the heart of the man who killed Grünes's former body. It felt good to take revenge, but now Grünes has no choice but to listen to Mistress. No matter how hard Grünes tries to disobey, or even just run away, Grünes has to obey the orders that Mistress gave.

Everyday Grünes goes into town, looks for the Prince Adam and Princess Snow White, even the man named Frederick; but everyday is the same. Grünes doesn't find anyone, until recently, anyways.

A week ago Grünes caught the scent of the man named Frederick. It was hard to sniff him out because he's covered in the black stuff that burns Grünes's nose. Not to mention he doesn't smell the same as the clean shirt that Mistress kept in a drawer. However, Grünes found him! Grünes found him and followed him home! Even camped outside of the house to see when he leaves, when he comes back; always leaves out the back early morning, always comes late in the evening in the back.

Why doesn't he leave or enter the front?

Grünes tried to get in once through a window, that didn't work; nor the back door nor the front door.

Frederick must have seen Grünes or was waiting in the shadows because he finally spoke to Grünes. Asked all these questions that Grünes could not answer. Grünes wants to answer, but cannot because Grünes cannot talk.

Now every time Frederick sees Grünes, he chases Grünes away.

It was fun at first, but now it's boring, and Grünes still can't find Adam nor Snow White.

This morning Grünes waited until after Frederick left his house and picked the lock of the front door to get in. It was much easier than Grünes thought, though, the pick broke in the lock. Grünes hoped that Frederick wouldn't notice, if the front door stayed shut, then maybe Grünes could come back later to investigate the house, sniff out something of Adam or Snow White's to track them to their hiding spot.

Grünes was really upset and went to the bakery to get the foods that taste so good. Grünes had enough money to get a few things that Grünes liked to eat. Grünes bought four loaves of bread and sat on the usual bench. Just as Grünes was finally going to taste the deliciousness of the bread, a new smell was in the air. Not just one, but two!

Stuffing Grünes mouth with a bread loaf, he tried to follow his nose, but there were so many people around that Grünes couldn't even move. It wasn't until they were leaving the bakery that Grünes found them; Adam and Snow White. It was kinda scary how much Adam looked like Grünes, only with scary black eyes. Snow White was very very pretty and smelled very very sweet.

Eating bread along the way, Grünes followed them around the market and all the back to the house where Frederick lived. Adam was suspicious the whole time, he kept his hand on Snow White everywhere they went and kept searching through the crowd, as if he knew Grünes was watching him. It was a little scary, actually. Grünes was very very careful and very very quiet, yet Adam still looked for Grünes. It was only when they went in through the front door that Grünes unlocked this morning that Grünes didn't know what to do from there; Frederick would definitely know about the door now.

Still being quiet as could be, Grünes walked many circles around the house, straining ears to hear and nose to smell. They were still inside, but they weren't talking, which was weird since so many people in the village don't know how to stop talking. Grünes could smell something delicious from the kitchen, though. Grünes tiptoed to the window and peeked through the recently opened curtains.

Snow White was humming as she moved around and did something in the kitchen. Suddenly the stench of smoke burned Grünes's nostrils and Grünes knew that the stove had been turned on. There was the creaking of wood and Grünes could see Snow White very clearly in the window. She was very very pretty; too bad he was going to have to kill her. Grünes tried to think of a plan on how to get Snow White out of there without Adam noticing when pretty brown eyes locked with his. He ducked under the window and could only hear his heart pounding in his chest.

Mistress will not be happy if Grünes is caught.

But Mistress will be happy to know that Grünes found the three she wanted!

Grünes felt as though his luck was turning around when suddenly he smelled Frederick. Not wanting to get caught so soon, Grünes went into the neighbor's yard and hid in the pile of hay. It was so itchy! But Frederick's came and went and went into Frederick's house, so Grünes was not caught. Moving from the itchy hiding spot, Grünes went back to the window to see if anything important would be revealed.

Grünes could hear Snow White humming very prettily, but had to strain his ears to hear what Frederick and Adam talked about.

"What the hell do you think you're doing bringing her here?" Frederick sounded angry. "Have you gone mad?"

"I'm perfectly sane, Frederick." Adam sounded angry too.

"Then did you forget about the dangers . . .?" Frederick's voice got quiet.

"I could never forget." Adam responded through gritted teeth. "I hadn't planned on . . ."

"Don't even try to lie to me, Adam!" Frederick sounded really really mad. "Your doppelganger has been following me for weeks now, waiting to see if I'm going into the mountains or not."

"Then why was your front door unlocked?" Adam snapped and Grünes's heart stopped. Adam was such a tattletale!

"The door was unlocked?" Frederick walked to the door and opened it, closed it, opened it again before crouching down to see if there were anything wrong with the lock.

"The bastard. . ." Frederick hissed and closed the door tightly. "He's more clever than I thought. . ."

"What?" Adam asked.

"He picked the lock and stuck a piece of metal into it to keep it from locking." Frederick was really mad. Grünes could feel his aura changing drastically.

"This has been going on for a while now?"

"The metal pieces in the lock?" Frederick huffed. "No, but there have been different forms of breaking and entering that he's unsuccessfully tried."

Grünes frowned and felt really silly. He thought he had been unnoticed. Frederick paid too much attention to things.

"Like what?"

Frederick suddenly stopped talking and Grünes felt exposed. He should have just stayed in the itchy hiding spot, or gone to tell the Mistress of what Grünes found!

"Grünes."

And with that Grünes ran away as fast as he could. It was still too early for Grünes to return to the castle, the Mistress would just send him back out again. No, Grünes would have to wait until Adam and Snow White had to leave, then he could follow them home!

So Grünes went to the edge of town and played hide-and-seek with some of the village boys until he saw Adam and Snow White leaving town; the boys weren't as good as Frederick and couldn't find him even after he left. It wasn't hard to follow them, with the sun going down and everyone going home, it was much easier for Grünes to follow, though it certainly was much more difficult to hide from them.

Adam kept searching and searching as they walked, and only once did he come close to finding Grünes, but the piles of hay out in the fields were easy to hide in since there were so many of them. Grünes followed them for a long, long time all the way up the mountain until they got to a fork in the road. Smelling the mountain air, Grünes had a longing in his heart to be in the mountains, but the wretched curse placed on him would not allow him to diverge from his task of finding their hiding spot. That's when the strangest thing happened, they just disappeared!

Grünes stood at the fork in the road, sniffing the air for their scent when the wind picked up and he heard soft talking. The sneaky sneakies went behind the fork in the road! Grünes hopped down and saw many skinny trails, but followed the one that carried their scent. There was something within Grünes that was strangely excited about finding the prey, and another, something Grünes only felt when he took the heart of the man was slightly thirsty. Grünes's throat felt dry, and despite sipping on some of the sprinkling rain, he couldn't be satisfied.

The Dark Forest was very dark, but with the scent of Adam and Snow White on the wind, Grünes followed them all the way to a pretty little area where light touched the earth and rid the world of shadows. Two cottages stood a few yards apart and seven little people came running out the doors to greet them. Grünes stayed in the cover of the hanging trees and was most excited that he had good news for his Mistress.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thanks so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story!

This was a very difficult chapter to write. Not so much from Grimhilde's perspective, but from Grünes. Since Grünes looks like a man but has the heart of a boar, I wanted to make sure he cold still think, but it was considerably childish and unfamiliar to him since he is a being that is not supposed to exist; for now.

Please leave reviews and tell me what you think! We're almost there guys!

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-Three

ADAM

_September 21_

_Mission: Keep Snow White safe._

_When I started his mission back in February, I assumed the mission would be accomplished by the end of the week. I never would have anticipated being here for three seasons already. Autumn just began and my anxiety has only gotten worse. I hate admitting that since living in this Realm has literally been a dream I never once had, every day is something new with Snow White and even the Dwarves have volunteered to show us where we could start a garden._

_Of course, there are some things like grains that we cannot grow because of the soil, but the vegetables are some of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. Snow White seems happy, her reading and writing has greatly improved to the point I no longer have to assist her and she is even teaching Dopey how to write in exchange for being taught sign language. She especially enjoys taking care of the Dwarves by sewing them new clothes and repairing their clothes that need mending. She hasn't once mentioned returning to Apfel since the only time we returned to the village, but I know she goes miss it._

_Since then Frederick climbs the mountain once a week to drop off flours, sugars, grains, and other things that we cannot grow, especially as old man Winter fast approaches us. He's keeping us stocked here so when the snow does come, we will be well prepared. In exchange the Dwarves give him enchanted gemstones for him to do with as he sees fit since he is now a smithy._

_Much to my own chagrin this Realm has been far too quiet for the Evil Queen to be residing in. I've done my routine of checking the perimeters, Grump the Dwarf has taught be patching enchantments to secure the barrier when it grows weaker, and as prepared as I am for something terrible to happen, nothing has yet to happen. I know we are safe here, but I cannot shake the foreboding feeling that we have been under watch these past few months; especially since Frederick says he has not seen hide nor hair of Grünes since that day. That really only confirms my fear that he is in the Dark Forest, or much worse, knows where we are._

_Had I discovered the technique of the Transfer Spell, perhaps I would not be as anxious. For a book of spells to be so literal, it give no advice nor rhyme to conjure this spell. I've nearly given up this godforsaken cure and have been ready to give up a blissful future with Snow White, but she talks so fondly of a future with me that I would hate to disappoint her._

_I've tried getting rid of the toxins by releasing them onto trees, but to no avail. I've tried to transfer the toxins onto some of the less precious gemstones the Dwarves mine, but I only cause them to go blackness that is easily removed with their enchanted holy water. I've even dared to bathe in a tub of this enchanted holy water for a whole week, but there is too many impurities within me that it has been impossible to remove it all. Not even the Dwarves enchantments or magics can help me, though they've been able to heal Snow White's scars and even repaired something in Snow White that caused her to fear she would never produce children._

_Despite my own anxieties and fears, I can say that I am happy so long as she is happy and so long as I can keep her safe. Still the quiet in the forest and within the village is unnerving, I can't help but fear that pure evil will come much faster than I can stop it. . ._

"Adam, you in here?" Grumpy called from below.

Adam set down his quill in his own journal and looked to the window. The sun had already gone down and he hadn't paid attention to it.

"Adam?" Alarm and concern wrung out in the Dwarf's voice.

"I'm up here." Adam called as he tucked his journal into a drawer of his desk. He stood and quickly exited his room, closing the door behind him as he did so.

"Why didn'tcha answer the first time?" Grumpy groused and crossed his arms.

"I was writing, and I wasn't sure I heard you the first time." He sighed as he came down the stairs. In their normal sized cottage, grumpy looked like an old child in size.

"Writing." He scoffed. "That's all you ever seem to be doin' lately, that or runnin' around lookin' for trouble."

"I'd rather be ready for trouble than unprepared."

"Yeah, yeah." Grumpy rolled his eyes. "Do ya even know how long you've been here?"

"What?" Adam blinked in surprise at him. That was very out of the blue.

"You've been here for nearly three seasons, the fourth is fast approaching and you're still here." Grumpy's foot started tapping.

"And?" Adam's brow furrowed.

"And, when are ya gonna ask for the necklace back?"

"The what?"

"Don't tell me you done went and forgot about it." The Dwarf gaped at him. "You know, the pretty little piece you got for the princess as a deposit for you two to stay here?"

"What about it?" Adam remembered buying it for Snow White at the Spring Festival, though, after giving it to Grumpy he wasn't entirely sure what happened to it. He never expected to get it back.

"Well, don'tcha want it back?" He crossed his arms and looked up at him expectantly.

"Am I to assume that you're willing to give it back to me if I ask for it?" Adam chose his words carefully.

"Might be." He cocked a brow at him and dug through his pockets. He pulled out a deep velvet blue box and held it out to Adam.

"May I have it back?"

"Are ya gonna give it to her it I do?" He asked over cautiously.

"I want to. . ." Adam admitted. "Though, I had hoped of getting rid of the toxins in me first. . ."

"Well, I'm tired of you sittin' around twiddling your thumbs tryin' to make something happen." Grumpy shoved the blue velvet box into Adam's hand. "And I'm especially tired of holding onto it. I hold onto it any longer I'm going to just make it into somethin' else entirely!"

"What did you do to it?" Adam asked as he peeked into the box.

"Well that stone ain't glass no more." He huffed proudly with a smirk under his nose. "That there is a genuine ruby, what the monarchs of Franca would pay for it! Not to mention that it better gold, better chain, than what you had originally."

"Looks like someone was sitting around twiddling their thumbs instead of digging." Adam snorted as he looked at the refined and redesigned necklace. It was still the same, gold chain with a small red gem that would sit beautifully on her smooth white skin.

"Don't make me take it back." He turned his head away, though his ears were red. "You should give it to her soon. It'd make her really happy . . ."

"What is it to you?"

"Don't be that way, Adam." Grumpy groused. "Just cause I'm grumpy doesn't mean I don't see things. Even though the princess is happy here, she does miss her home. And despite what you or she says, I know she misses home. She won't outrightly admit it, but you should surprise her with it at some point."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned on his heel. "Also, dinner's nearly ready."

The Dwarf left the cottage and Adam stood there looking down at the little necklace. As much as he hated to admit it, the Dwarf knew what he was talking about. Snow white really didn't mention or bring up the idea of going back to Apfel again, maybe something in her knew she woudn't be going back any time soon, or maybe she knew as long as the Evil Queen reined, she wouldn't be able to go back home. He knew that she was happy here, but he also knew that she had a completely different life in Apfel than she ever would in the mountains.

He shut the box and tucked it away into his inside breast pocket. Just this once he would take the Dwarf's advice. Sometime tonight, he'd figure out a way to give it to her. He knew Grumpy would be expecting it to be presented in front of all of them, however, Adam much preferred it to be in private. His heart suddenly raced, and his face felt warm. He took a deep breath before exiting their cottage and closing their door tightly behind him. With each step he took to the lively house that smelled greatly of the Dwarves' favorite gooseberry pie, along with fresh bread and roasted duck. His own stomach grumbled as he entered the Dwarves' cottage.

Everyone was already at their places at the tables, leaving the two long ends open for Snow White and Adam. The Dwarves squawked and argued impatiently with one another as Snow White laid out the food on the table. She had a smile on her face and was very happy to see Adam as he entered. He allowed a soft smile to play on his lips as he took his seat at the head of the table and just watched her as she returned to her own.

Today she wore a harvest green dress with long sleeves that were puffed at the ends. She found that as autumn drew closer that things were getting colder and colder each evening. She sewed the pretty little number together a week ago. She was talented in everything she did with her hands. Especially the food that she prepared, the meal before them had every garnish in detail to glorify and magnify the food she made.

Sure enough, beneath the smile of contentedness of being here with the Dwarves Adam could see that she still longed to go back to Apfel. Then again, he couldn't blame her when she was constantly taking care of these seven. They were loud, rambunctious, and almost always complaining with or at one another. They were definitely exhausting for Adam, there was no telling how tired she was of them; actually he doubted that she was tired of them because she actually enjoyed their company. He even dared to think that she loved them as the childish grandpas they were. In fact he knew that she did by the way she always made time for each of them.

With food on the table, the places set, and everyone accounted for, Doc said grace over the meal and we all ate. The Dwarves each heartily ate their roasted duck, vegetables, potatoes, and bread all heartily, swapping stories, nearly shouting at each other and just setting such a happy ambiance for the meal. Snow White laughed quite frequently at the Dwarves and Adam found he could not take his eyes away from her. The box in his pocket seemed to weigh heavily in anticipation.

Once the meal was finished, the Seven Dwarves each took their plates and utensils and whatever the food had been brought on to do the dishes. Doc washed, Happy rinsed, and Bashful dried the dishes while Grumpy stacked them into their cupboards. Sleepy wiped the table down clean while Dopey swept and while Sneezy mopped. Adam and Snow White sat at the table watching them work. Adam could see the faint circles under her eyes, and he knew she was tired. She always did her best to entertain and keep the Dwarves happy even if it meant exhausting herself; it drove Adam mad when she did that! He wanted nothing more than to take her back to their cottage now and make sure she went to bed. The box in his pocket weighed heavily on his mind.

His hand subconsciously balled into a fist and he tried to think of something to say, anything to say. He was half tempted to ask her if she wanted to turn in for the night when Sleepy picked up his push box accordion and began playing a fun little diddy. The Dwarves that could play instruments picked up their choice instrument and began playing before Adam could even utter a word. Snow White clapped and danced and in a mere matter of moments, Dopey, who stood on Sneezy's shoulders, bowed and held out his hand for a dance with Snow White. Even two Dwarves high Dopey's head didn't touch the ceiling; which made Adam much more jealous than it should have.

Ridiculous small cottage. . .

Ridiculous short ceiling. . .

He plastered a smile to his face and clapped along though, for even though he himself could not dance with her, she was having fun with the Dwarves all the same. He hoped she wouldn't noticed his discomfort or jealousy and would just enjoy herself. Grumpy, on the other hand, gave a rather smug smirk in Adam's direction as he played his organ. A different kind of heat rested within him, but he would not allow it to fester or grow. Being jealous of the Dwarves was useless. . .

When they finished one verse of the song, Snow White curtsied and the Dwarves bowed and clapped before putting away their instruments. Snow white wandered over to Adam and he held her close as she relied on him to rest her head.

"That was fun." She beamed up at him. A small yawn escaped her, and she tried to cover it with her hand. "I wish you could have joined in . . ."

"The ceiling is just too short." He sighed and petted her hair. "If you're not too tired perhaps later –"

Dopey suddenly came up to him and started doing gestures at Snow White. She turned her entire attention to Dopey and focused on his hands.

"Will you. . ." She made out his slow hand motions. "Tell us. . . Story?"

"Dopey would like you to tell us a story, Princess." Grumpy confirmed as he walked up beside Dopey and pushed his hat over his eyes. "However, if yo're too tired –"

"No, no." She shook her head with a smile. "I would love to tell you all a story."

Adam's shoulders slumped as she moved away from him and went over to the center of the room. Doc pulled out a special chair that they made for Snow White, and the Dwarves pulled pillows out of a closet. Snow White settled herself in the story chair while the Dwarves settled themselves on their floor pillows, looking up expectantly. For them to be old men, they acted like children. Adam sat back in his chair with his arms crossed and his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles.

She sat quietly in thought for a few moments before opening her eyes with a smile. The Dwarves scooted closer in anticipation and even Adam found himself ready to cling onto every word that would come out of her mouth. Dopey looked to Grumpy who sat ready to translate her story for him.

"Once upon a time." She hummed. "There was a princess."

"Was the princess, you?" Doc whispered excitedly.

Snow White nodded her head with the softest blush on her cheeks. "And she fell in love. . ."

Adam's hand went to his chest to still his heart as it pounded loudly.

"Was it hard to do?" Sneezy sniffled and leaned forward.

"Oh, no, it was very easy." She giggled and her cheeks deepened to a red. "Although he makes himself out to be the lone wolf, anyone could see that the prince was charming and gentle and kind, and he would be good to any princess. . ."

Those doe brown eyes dared to glance in his direction. He would only ever be good for this princess alone.

I am only good to you, my darling, Snow White.

"But he's the only one for me." She said happily and laced her fingers together in her lap, as if to compose herself to continue the story.

"Was he strong and handsome?" Doc asked.

"Was he big and tall?" Sneezy asked.

"Yes." She beamed. "There's really no one else like him in the whole world, or anywhere at all. . ."

"Did he say he loved ya?" Bashful asked as he twisted his fingers.

"Did he try to steal a kiss?" Happy bubbled with laughter.

"Not in the usual ways that one tells the other, and though I wish he would have stolen a kiss or two, he can't. . ." She sighed romantically.

"And why not?" Grumpy shot up a question, aiming it at Adam.

"You see, he's had a curse placed on him by an evil witch." Snow White explained and put her hands over her heart.

"And you still love him?"

"Even though he's had a curse placed on him, he's shown me more love by not laying a hand on me and treating me like a princess than if he were to truly seduce me." Her face was nearly red.

"How'd he do that?" Bashful asked.

"He was so romantic." She began to sing, and Adam's knees turned to jelly. "I could not resist."

All the Dwarves settled into their seats with their legs crossed, elbows resting on their knees, and their faces sitting in their hands.

"_Some day my prince will come,_

_Some day we'll meet again,_

_And away to his castle, we'll go._

_To be happy forever, I know._

_Some day when Spring is here,_

_We'll find our love anew._

_And the birds will sing,_

_And wedding bells will ring,_

_Some day when my dream comes true_."

"Beautiful!" Happy cheered as all the Dwarves clapped in unison.

"B-B-But what'll happen if the Prince doesn't b-b-break his curse?" Bashful asked softly.

"The princess will wait for him still." She smiled gently, as if something inside her hurt.

"Even if it never ever breaks?" Sleepy yawned.

"Yes, even then." She nodded her head firmly.

His heart practically jumped out of his chest at her words. He tried to cover it with his hand, smother it even, to make it behave again.

"But why would the princess do that?" Grumpy asked, brow furrowed in confusion. "Why doesn't she look for some other prince?"

"Because not just any princes will do." She looked at Grumpy. "Just because a prince is a prince, it does not mean that he is a good one."

"But it sounds like the cursed prince has problems." Grumpy argued still. "What makes this prince so great?"

Adam rarely wanted to fight with the Dwarves, but Grumpy seemed pertinent on causing a fight this evening. Adam would not take the bait, he would just let this one go. . .

"He's defended her honor." She tells them. "He has battled the worst of villains, and he even saved her from the most evil of enemies that tried to kill her."

"Why would anyone want to kill the princess?" Happy asked with a gasp.

Why indeed?

"Because an evil prince wasn't chosen as her one true love." She cast another glance in Adam's direction.

"She would stay with the prince, even if his curse never broke?" Sleepy's head tilted to the side in confusion.

"Yes." She nodded her head kindly towards him. "It is a true and rare love that the princess has waited for, for a long, long time. She would even help the prince if he allowed her to, and she would do anything if it meant they could be together forever and ever."

"It sounds almost too good to be true. . ." Bashful burned red. "Wouldn't she get tired of waiting?"

"No." She clenched her hands together. "No, she won't. Because she believes in their happily ever after and she believes that he will succeed in breaking his curse."

"She has a lot of faith in this prince." Grumpy snorted.

"Because he has given her the hope that a new tomorrow can happen."

If only she realized that it was she that gave the hope for a new tomorrow. . .

"He sounds really special." Bashful burned a deep red and hid in his beard.

"He really is." She smiled and she looked over at Adam. All attempts of keeping his heart in its proper cage were useless and his face burned as heat consumed him.

"I want the princess to get a happy ending." Sleepy said through a yawn.

"Me too." Happy yawned too. "But I also want to go to bed."

"it's about damn time." Grumpy harrumphed and snatched up his pillow.

"There's not need to be grumpy, Grumpy." Doc scowled.

"It's quite all right." Snow White said through her own yawn. "I think it's about time that I go to bed too."

"Of course!" Doc jumped up. "We're sorry we kept you so late!"

"You should be. . ." Adam grumbled as he stretched and pushed himself to stand.

"It's fine." Snow White countered.

"Good night, princess." Doc smiled as he passed her. The Dwarves took their turns saying their goodnights to her as they climbed the stairs, all except for Grumpy; he always locked the door at night. He currently stood with his arms crossed and his foot tapping.

Still sitting in her chair, Snow White stretched her arms over her head with a squealing yawn.

"It was not fine." Adam said as he held his hand out to her.

"It was." She argued as she accepted his hand and stood, only to stretch again.

"You have circles under your eyes." His gloved hand went to her cheek and his thumb gently rubbed under her eye. "It was not fine."

"If you're going to be all romantic and gross, do it outside please." Grumpy groaned. "I want to go to bed sometime this evening."

"We're going." Adam cast him a glare before sliding his arm over Snow White's shoulders and guided her to the door.

"Goodnight, Grumpy." Snow White said politely as they exited.

"You're far too kind to him." Adam heaved a heavy sigh as the door closed behind them.

"I'm kind to everyone, Adam." She giggled up at him then yawned deeply. "My, I'm much more tired than I thought. . ."

"I knew you were." His gloved hand caressed her cheek and held her there for a moment. She closed her eyes and nearly melted into his hand.

"And you've been nervous." Her hand pressed to his gloved hand as she opened her eyes. "Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened." He shook his head as the box in his breast pocket weighed heavily.

"Are you upset?" She questioned further.

"No." his brow furrowed down at her. "But I think you might be."

"I'm sorry?" She blinked in surprise and tilted her head the other way.

"Even though you don't say anything about it and you practically avoid talking about it altogether, I know you miss Apfel." He explained. "It's not often that I catch you in the moment, but every now and again I catch those quick glimpses of you starring off into space, typically in the direction that Apfel is at."

"You and that watchful eye." An embarrassed laugh escaped her with a little hint of blush touching her cheeks.

"Am I wrong?"

"N-Not entirely." She tried to look away from him, but he gingerly held her chin and turned her face to him. "B-But it doesn't make a difference since I can't go back. At least not yet. . ."

"There's no shame in missing your home, my darling." He smiled down at her. His smile only broadened as her blush deepened. "I promise that you will return to it one day."

"It just seems so far away. . ." She hung her head and held her arms. "I know I have to be patient, a-and I do really like being here! The cottage is beautiful, the mountain has so many gifts to offer, a-and the Dwarves are so kind –"

"But it's not home for you." He tipped her chin up at him and those doe brown eyes shyly found his.

"I-It's not." She sniffled and tried to force a smile. Adam quickly rubbed under her eyes so no tears could fall yet.

"I wasn't sure when I was supposed to give you this. . ." Adam admitted as he pulled the small box from his breast pocket. "I meant to give it to you the day I got it, however, that fool of a prince had made quite the uproar that day."

Her brow furrowed and those doe brown eyes fixated on the box in his hand. He popped it open and she gasped as she saw the necklace. Her hand went to cover her mouth as she just stared at it.

"I know that day you saw this and liked it." He couldn't hide the growing smile on his face as he held it out to her. "I know you don't have much jewelry, and though I wasn't sure if you'd wear it, I wanted to get this for you."

"I can't believe you bought it. . ." She blinked several times, as if holding back tears as Adam took her hand and gently placed it there.

"With this necklace, I want to make a promise to you." Those doe brown eyes, practically shining in the moonlight, looked up at him. "I will make Apfel a safer place again so you can return home."

He drew her other hand in his gloved one, brought it to his lips, and kissed his thumb so the direct contact of skin would not burn her beautiful skin.

"A-A-Adam." If she reddened anymore then she would surely faint. He couldn't help but smirk at her. "T-That's a very big promise to make!"

"And I intend to make it happen." He chuckled as he laced his fingers in her hand and guided her to their cottage. "Come, my darling, I think it's time we both went to bed this evening."

She said nothing in response and followed him to their cottage. Her face stayed red the entire way as he dropped her off to her room. Though he smirked at her earlier for frazzling her so well, her lack of response and conversation did worry him. Even as they stood outside their door, her face was still red, and she clung to the box in her little hands. She had still yet to enter, and she had still yet to release his hand. She fixated her faze on the floor and would not look up at him.

"Snow White?" He asked, and her grip on his hand only tightened.

"A-Adam!" Her voice was rather loud as she jerked her head in his direction.

"Yes?" He was not sure how to respond to this action.

"T-Thank you v-very much." Her little hand was shaking as he held his. "I r-really, r-really like it."

"You're welcome." He laughed softly at her and gently gave her hand a squeeze before slipping it from hers. "I'm glad you like it. I hope you sleep well, Snow White."

"Y-You too. . ." He shoulders fell, as if she was relieved.

Normally Adam would stay until she was securely in her room, however, after seeming to have frazzled her too much Adam turned on his heel to leave. However, just as he turned to leave, Snow White's little hand grabbed his and yanked him down to her level.

"A-And one more thing." Before he could react, the softest, sweetest, most wonderfully blessed feeling graced his cheek. She released him and his hand went to his cheek. His face was just as red as hers, but now she wore the triumphant smirk while he tried to cover his burning face. His cheek tingled as he realized her lips graced his cheek with her gentle kiss. It was so quick, so soft, and made his heart pounding in excitement and gave his own lips a craving he had been fighting for so long.

"S-S-Snow White!" He found himself stammering out of shock and desperately tried to regain composure as he stared worriedly at those temptations of red lips. He prayed nothing happened, and as he continued to stare was so surprised when nothing happened.

"Yes?" She giggled with the biggest smile on her face.

All of her teeth were still intact, her lips had not shriveled off, and she seemed completely and utterly fine.

"Are you all right?" He asked as he continued to look at those tempting red lips.

"Of course, I am." She giggled again and smiled proudly up at him.

"But you just –" His cheek still felt the heat of those red lips.

"Kissed you." She could not stop giggling. "Yes, I know. I've been wanting to do that for weeks now."

"But you know that you mustn't!" He was far too happy to be truly mad wither, though he was genuinely concerned for her well-being.

"But I had to!" She argued and held the box over her heart. "I just felt so . . . felt so loved that I just couldn't contain it any longer, Adam."

The mere mention of the word 'love' made his heart pound again that he was sure it was going to jump out of his chest. His face only grew more heated and he himself was finding it rather difficult to manage self-control.

"I couldn't express myself in words, so I had to put them through action." She tried to justify her very bold and dangerous move.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, carefully studying her lips. They were still the same beautiful color of red roses, but they suddenly looked a touch drier, almost chapped. "Any burning, or itching?"

"No burning or itching." She shook her head with a wide smile. "Just tingling."

It took everything within Adam to stay rooted to the spot and not to take her in his arms and hold her.

"You should see the face you're making." Her laughter was so innocent, she had no idea of the growing feelings within him.

"That's much more dangerous than you know of, Snow White." He felt himself pouting slightly that she somewhat missed the mark but was also still dwelling on the tingling in his cheek.

"I know." She still smiled proudly up at him. "It won't happen again, I promise. The next time we share a kiss, you must be the one to give it to me."

If only she knew how much power she held over his heart and in turn over him. Her words, though completely innocent and sincere, only continued that burning resolve of finding his cure.

"Goodnight, Adam." She turned to her room. "I look forward to the promises we have made and plan to keep."

"Good night, my lovely Snow White." He felt as though he could breath again, and at the same time had lost all the air in the room as she entered her room and locked the door behind her.

Still trying to catch his breath and contemplate on what just happened, his feet automatically carried him to his room where he entered and shut the door behind him. With a hand to his hair and the other to his heart, Adam leaned against the door and sunk to the floor.

"She'll be the death of me. . ." He uttered as the pounding muscle in his heart still had not stopped. Not that he would fight her if she so chose to kill him, but she wielded far too much power over him. She also gave him strength, and a purpose to fight for, and a future to look forward to.

"I must find a cure." He sighed as his hand fell from his hair to his still lingering tingling cheek. "I must.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!_

_This chapter was a little bit different. If any of you remember the movie, I tried to use that particular scene for Snow White's story she told/sung to the Dwarves. In the movie it never felt finished to me, so I tried to finish it with my own story, lol._

_I also threw in a little teeny tiny kiss. I had too. Adam was begging for it, Snow White was begging for it, I'm sure some of you readers have been begging for it, and I secretly have been too. You can't just create a ship and not want them to kiss! It was small and quick and Snow White was slightly burned by it, but I must say that it was very much worth it; especially with the things to come._

_Please leave reviews and let me know what you think. If you would like to share my story on social media, please do so! I would be very honored if you did so. ^_^_

_Thanks so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter._


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter Forty-Four

ADAM

Since Adam gave the necklace to Snow White, she has worn it everyday without fail. All of the Dwarves noted it, Grumpy looking rather smug as they all discussed how pretty it looked, and even Frederick, who has made more and more trips up the mountain, has noted how pretty it was. Between the end of the harvest coming, autumn getting ready to bow to the winter's cold, and strange events happening in Apfel Frederick has made a trip up the mountain nearly every other day. He's visited so much that there has even been a time or two that he's stayed the night on the couch downstairs.

Snow White enjoys his company and is provided with hostess duties to do while Adam stays informed of the happenings going on in the town. Where Snow White gets more and more excited that things are looking better, Adam cannot help but fear for the absolute worst. Securing the perimeter on his usual patrol, Adam could not help but think of what Frederick had told him the other day.

Things had grown strangely quiet in the castle, Grünes is a myth in no longer being existent, and many of the servants of the castle have been let go; not killed. Each day more and more have been let go, even the knights have been let go. The town is fuller than it ever has been before and everyone is looking for work. The Smithy has gained a few more apprentices and has even had to set up a second shop, technically the third in the village now since Frederick had his own smithy on the outskirts of town for the farmers. He allows them to pay in through produce and has an overabundance of food and keeps bringing it up the mountain.

Still the silence within the castle walls is unnerving for Adam and he has found himself far too ready to draw his sword while on the patrols. Twice he's nearly slashed at Frederick and thrice he's nearly gotten Dopey; the poor Dwarf had been the one they sent to retrieve him for dinner. Now he throws a stone or a stick before approaching. Snow White has been kind in her care, but even she has noticed the growing anxiety within Adam, and though she does her best to provide him comfort with her words, they do not reach them as much as he wished they would.

Standing at the knife's edges of the perimeter, Adam listened and waited for Frederick's arrival. If he planned to stay consistent with his visits, he would be here today. Adam strained his ears for any snapping of twigs, crunching of leaves, or even catching his recent smoky scent; it was faint on the wind which meant he was still on the ascent, but he wasn't terribly close.

"Standing in the Dark Forest the Dark Prince will cut down all who should oppose him to harm his beautiful Princess of Light." Frederick heaved a heavy sigh as he stood at the bottom of a steep hill.

"Still calling me a dark prince?" Adam glared down at Frederick; he was much closer than Adam had realized.

"You are the Dark Prince." Frederick snorted as he looked up. He had another heavy backpack full of food today.

"You really must stop calling me that." Adam grimaced.

"It's fitting." Frederick disregarded the comment as he climbed the steep hill. "The two of you are polar opposites, you the darkness, she the light, and yet you two look so good together. I've rooted for you two for far too long now to give up on you."

"I have no idea how to feel about that. . ." Adam raised his eyebrow at him. "It's a little odd coming from you."

"It's fine if you're embarrassed." Frederick teased as he finally reached equal footing with Adam. "Though it is nothing to be embarrassed about."

"It is when you can't physically be together." Adam sighed. "Any news?"

"Nothing I haven't already told you." Frederick wiped his brow. "More servants losing their jobs, there's an influx of people in the village, Grünes is nowhere to be seen or heard, and the entire presence of the Queen has evaporated."

"Her presence?" Adam blinked in surprise.

"It's as though she's vanished into thin air." Frederick glared at the ground. "I even dared to take a look into the castle; it's the darkest it's ever been. Windows have been boarded shut and hidden behind curtains, and every door is locked."

"Of that I can assure you it hasn't." Adam snorted darkly.

"I'm serious, Adam." Frederick snapped. "That entire building is a ghost town! Even the mirrors have been broken!"

"The mirrors are broken?" Adam gaped. This was only getting more and more severe.

"Shattered, glass everywhere." Frederick tossed his arm out. "You would have thought the place would have been pillaged by thieves, or that a battle happened!"

"Perhaps one did. . ." Adam murmured.

"Don't you get it?" Frederick's hands balled into fists. "The Queen is missing! Grünes is missing! That means one of two things, Adam!"

"Well we both know she didn't drop dead." He crossed his arms with a sigh. "That means the worst outcome, they're trying to find Snow White."

"Or they already know where she is and they're making their way here." Frederick crossed his arms in mimicking Adam's stance. "You're lucky enough that this forest is thick and tangled enough that unless you know the paths well it's difficult to get to the Dwarves' cottages."

"That'll mean nothing if the Evil Queen is actively seeking this place out," Adam shook his head. "It means that she can just track this place through magic; if she has enough of it. . ."

"What do you mean if she has enough of it?" Frederick's voice was cold.

"Frederick. . ." Adam pursed his lips in thought. "There's a few things that I know that I haven't been allowed to tell you. . . Even now I hesitate to tell you –"

"Adam, now is not the time to be withholding secrets." Frederick grabbed him by the front of his coat and glared at him. His fist shaking as it held the folds of the coat.

"I'm literally under a binding magical contract that keeps me from being able to speak about it." At least that was how Mr. V made it seem. "What I can tell you it, if the mirrors are broken, she's out of magic. Keeping Grünes alive sapped more of her powers than she was expecting. She no longer can rely on the Magic Mirror nor any magic at all, save Grünes, for any of her bidding to be done."

"Does that mean, she's gone back to normal?" Frederick looked far too desperate for and answer Adam could not give him; at least not a good one.

"Normal how?" Adam asked.

"She can't use magic anymore?" Frederick asked quickly. "Has the evil that has possessed her left her?"

"She can't use magic anymore, yes." Adam answered and crossed his arms. "But she probably looks like an old hag."

"What?"

"Her creating Grünes probably sapped her youth along with her magic." Adam tried to explain carefully since he was speaking from his own experience. "If she still has the Grimoire, she can still create spells once Grünes has passed, so the evil that you speak of is still with her."

"How will I know what she looks like?" Frederick asked, that desperate look still in his eyes. Even after she banished him, he still only had a heart of gold for her. Adam had no idea how to fathom this. . .

"She'll be the ugliest thing imaginable." Adam spoke bluntly. "And she'll be hunched over, probably using a walking stick."

"That's oddly specific." Frederick commented with a raised eyebrow.

"That's all I can tell you, Frederick." Adam said in finality. "Anymore and I will be extracted from this Realm. . ." Probably.

"Is there a way to reverse it's effects?" Frederick asked, putting his hand to his chin.

"Reverse what?"

"The ugliness."

"That's a matter of the heart." Adam rubbed the back of his neck. "Or at least that is what I've been told."

"A matter of the heart?" Frederick placed his hand over his heart.

"Her heart, specifically." Adam noted. "The heart has this way of exposing the truth out of lies, whether it be inner beauty, inner ugly, or even personality. If she truly regrets what she has done and has even an ounce of good left in her, there's a chance she'll be beautiful again."

"She has more than an ounce of good in her!" Frederick snapped. "She has more good in her than she has ever allowed herself to believe!"

"You say that." Adam couldn't help his nose from wrinkling. "I know that you truly believe that, Frederick. But in all the years that I ever knew her, she never had any good within her."

"Because you only ever knew her as the Evil Queen." Frederick spouted fast. "You never knew her as Grimhilde! My Hilde!"

"If you're love is as strong as your hope that there is still good in her." Adam gave him a sad smile. "I actually hope it will be enough to remind her of the small good within her. . ."

Despite his own grudge and eternal hate for the Evil Queen, Adam did sincerely hope that Frederick would be enough to remind her of what goodness was. He was far too loyal, far too patient, and perhaps almost as kind as Snow White, for he was the only foolish man Adam to ever know of to be so devoted in his attention, love, and care to the Evil Queen. Then again love is blind and deaf at the worst of times . . .

"It will be." Frederick said, his hands clenching in determination. "It will be because it must be."

"Sometimes I admire you for your loyalty." Adam commented with a soft shake of his head. "Other times, I think you're mad."

"You say that." Frederick pointed at him. "But tell me, Adam, if Snow White suddenly turned into the Evil Queen, or just became evil entirely, would you still follow her to the ends of the earth?"

"She would never!" Adam raised his voice as he locked eyes with Frederick.

"But if she did?" Frederick challenged in volume; those bottle green eyes daring to be defied. "If she did, would you still follow her?"

"I would. . ." Adam admitted not breaking his eye contact with Frederick. "If she herself wanted to be rid of me, the only way she would be able to would be if she struck me down with her own hand . . . If she were to be evil, for whatever reason . . . I can't say I could turn against her . . ."

"Why?" Frederick asked and crossed his arms.

"No matter how evil she may try to be, I will always be much much worse. . ." Adam admitted ashamedly. He had to gulp for air. "In truth, my hands are as blood stained as the Queen's, and despite what you think, or even what you know, my hands are even darker than yours, Frederick. We the swords to the women we allow to wield, will do our best to keep them from dirtying their pretty little hands. . ."

"Why?" Frederick asked again.

"Because the most fickle emotion that is love has the strongest hold on the heart. It can even overpower the mind if you let it. . ." Adam acknowledged. "It makes the wisest of men into fools, the foolish into wisemen; it shows the two sides of beauty of surface and undersurface; it makes the strongest weak, and the weakest strong. Love is powerful and dangerous."

"Yet the most wonderful feeling a person could ever know." Frederick chuckled, almost just as ashamedly as Adam spoke. "My love for the Queen is deeper than any sea and longer than any river, but it flows just as fast and strong as both."

"I do not think there is any shame in love." Adam admitted.

"But you do in devotion?" Frederick raised his eyebrow.

"When too far an extreme, yes." Adam nodded his head. "For your case, I don't see the same devotion she has for you that you show."

"Perhaps you never will." Frederick chuckled. "I doubt even if I explained it to you, you still wouldn't believe me."

"You'd be right." Adam shook his head.

"Which is why I'm still on duty." Frederick smiled in confidence.

"I'll never understand it." Adam admitted, though somewhere deep within him he could. "Come, it's getting dark." Adam turned on his heel. "Let's go see Snow White. She'll be delighted to see you again."

"You say that every time." Frederick commented.

"Because it is the truth." Adam spoke as they walked in step together. "She get's more excited with each visit."

"Where you seem to grow more grim." Frederick playfully pushed on Adam's arm. "You almost make me feel as though I'm not wanted."

"Never!" Adam shoved back. "You're the only man I can claim is a friend. Unless you came with the Queen in tow, you're always welcome to our cottage."

"If I ever found her." Frederick huffed. "I would take her so far away from this land and to a place where neither of us are known and just start again."

"She would allow that?" Adam snorted.

"I won't allow her to have her way on that." Frederick responded. "If she has to recover from looking like an old woman that I hope to grow old with, then she should have no complaints about moving somewhere else."

* * *

GRÜNES

Ever since Grünes returned to the castle and told Mistress about what he found in the dark dark forest, the castle has gotten more and more empty each day. The strange people that used to cook and clean have all left and the Mistress has hidden herself away in the dark stinky dungeons. She even told Grünes to go around breaking all the pretty magic glass.

Grünes had to go to every single room, pull back curtains that hid things, dig through pockets of clothes and go through ever dresser drawer to find mirrors large and small and break them all. There's so much sharp pointy glass everywhere. The only mirrors that Mistress forbade Grünes from breaking was the large one in the dungeon that she talks to, and the small compact she always carries with her.

Each day her face has changed from something pretty to something ugly, her dark hair has turned white, and she can no longer stand on her own two feet, she needs a stick and Grünes to rely upon to walk. Mistress says mean nasty things to Grünes that this is all his fault she looks like that, and that he has to be the one to fix everything.

Grünes doesn't know why it is his fault since she was the one that created him and has commanded him to do everything, but even if he wanted to Grünes cannot argue back nor can he disobey her. He's tried to by running away, but he gets stuck at the end of the rope and has to come back. It's really annoying since Grünes just wants to go back to the mountains, but Grünes will do as the Mistress commands.

The commands have only gotten stranger though.

After breaking all of the mirrors of magic glass, she ordered Grünes to board up all the windows, lock every door, hide every key to every door in an urn beside the door it belonged to, roll up the carpets and rugs, put the chairs upside down on the tables, draw the curtains over the boarded windows.

There is no light save the small torches she uses down in the dungeons in the castle anymore and the small courtyard and apple tree.

Yesterday she had Grünes pick all of the apples off the tree until there were no more. She's been dipping them each into that big black scary pot, each time they just dissolve or disappear, or even worse shrivel up and shrink. She only had two left by the middle of the day.

Something strange happened, though. Last night a scary lightning storm caused a lot of static in the air. It caused all of the hair on the back of Grünes neck to stand on end, and they wouldn't go down. The Mistress's laugh has gotten rather scary each time she dips an apple into the pot. The first one dissolved into mushy nothingness, but the last one changed color several times.

Grünes knew that he picked red apples. The red apple she dipped into the pot changed color from red to yellow, to green to black before green ooze bubbled over the top and left a scary mark that reminded Grünes of skull before the apple turned red again. Grünes prayed that she wouldn't ask him to try it and was very thankful that she didn't.

Today she made Grünes go into the village to buy more apples, which for this place to be called Apfel and there be so little apples he was very disappointed. He did enjoy spending some time out in the sunshine and with the people today, but that rope that seemed to be tied to his ankle kept tugging at him to return to the castle. Still, some farmer had apples that he wanted so he bought them and returned to the castle with them.

He had to take the long way around the castle and get to the side doors that went to the dungeons. It was very cold and dark and it had a very very bad smell to it that made Grünes want to run away. He couldn't, no matter how much he wanted to. He was very very very surprised to see the Mistress using her stick to break the large mirror in the dungeon. It was as if something of terrible magic and power were somehow released into the air, it made Grünes a lot stronger, but he could see that Mistress was growing weaker.

"There." She huffed then cackled. "That's the last big one. . . That should buy us enough time to get to the mountain. . ." She suddenly looked at him and he could see she was almost skeletal as she hobbled over with her walking stick.

"Grünes?" She squinted and blinked. "You returned faster than I thought you would. . . No matter. I'm ready to go. Do you have the apples?"

He held out the basket to her and she gleefully took it from him and slipped it over her skeleton wrist and slid her dangerous apple over the top of it.

"Good pet." She patted his shoulder. "Come, come. We must be going."

He followed her over to a long skinny boat that shook and wobbled beneath her as she stepped down. As soon as she made it, she sat down and looked expectantly at him.

"Get on." She commanded and Grünes did so. He held the pole that was beside the skinny boat and began to row. There was something foreboding as he rowed because it felt as though the darkness tried to swallow him.

* * *

GRIMHILDE

She had wasted far too much precious time to do this spell, but she had to save up her magic to do so. She used every last ounce of it to create this stupid apple, but if it killed Snow White and helped her regain her magical ability, then it would all be worth it. She kept that poisoned apple in her hand at all cost, it was her new life that she was weighing in on.

She had Grünes destroy every mirror within the castle, made him dig through every nook and cranny to do so to find all of the ones she had hidden throughout the castle, made him lock the windows, close them with the curtains, lock every door all these ridiculous things to make the place as dark as possible so she could allow her magic to build up. She even forced Grünes to stay within the castle so all of her magical energy could build up, as slow as it was, she needed all that she could muster to create this poisoned apple.

"Magic Mirror." Her voice cracked and scratched her throat as she spoke. "Is there anything else I need to do?"

"The spell is complete, My Queen." The Mirror looked as though he were trying not to grimace at her as she spoke. "You've done everything as told to do. All that is left to be done is to burn the Grimoire."

"What?" She dug her finger into her ear and made sure that she heard him correctly. Ever since she started the fast aging process so many things weren't working correctly anymore.

"You have to burn the Grimoire." The Mirror repeated.

"But why?" She hissed. It had been the source of her power, why would she need to rid herself of it?

"You need to preerve as much magical energy as possible." The Mirror explained. "You will need to burn the Grimoire if you want the spell to work."

"And what about you?" She croaked.

"You still have the compact?"

"Of course." She dug around in her ridiculously long sleeves and pulled it out to show him. "I never leave it."

"Good." He nodded his head. "With whatever amount of magic you still possess, you will be able to conjure me only one more time once you've destroyed this mirror."

"You want me to destroy this mirror?" The one she had worked so hard to create, the one that was the biggest mirror being an entire floor to ceiling height, the one that would be the most difficult to destroy!

"You must." He nodded again. "Once Snow White has taken a bite of the apple and your powers have been returned, you can recreate everything all over again."

"Even the Grimoire?" She glanced back at the book of dark magic on its podium.

"Even the Grimoire." He confirmed. "You must start with that."

A green fire erupted in the pit of the black cauldron. She would have jumped back in surprise, however, her joints did not allow her to move so much as an inch and she had no choice but to tighten her hold on her walking stick. She hobbled over to the heatless fire and looked from the cauldron to the Grimoire.

The Grimoire almost seemed to beg, to plead for its life as if it knew what awaited it. The book of dark magic that showed her a world of secrets in the dark arts suddenly looked very heavy, and something pulled on her heart. It was as if the Grimoire were actually calling out to her to rethink her decision. If she was not so confident in the Mirror's words as well as in her own abilities to recreate it, she probably would have; she probably should. However, her time was growing more and more precious by the second and there was not a second to waste.

With shaky and mole ridden hands, she picked up the heavy book and with a shaky resolve dropped it into the cauldron. The earth quaked beneath her, the heat returned to the flames and were scorching the floors, a terrifying shriek went up in the air and a stabbing pain bit at her heart. She stumbled backwards and hit the ground, harder than it ever has before, as if gravity increased itself somehow. The world seemed to shake all around her before it suddenly came to a stop and she could push herself up from the ground.

When she looked up there were scorch marks on the floor where the cauldron had once been, but the cauldron and the Grimoire were both gone, as if they never existed in the first place. Almost instantly some of her strength had been returned to her and she felt lighter, much, much lighter.

"Well done, My Queen." The Mirror said proudly.

"I thought I was going to die. . ." She admitted as she found her walking stick and kept placing her hand over her heart to make sure it was still pumping.

"If you would not have burned the Grimoire then you surely would have." The Mirror confirmed. "Are you prepared for the final task?"

"I need . . . a moment." She gasped for air as she pulled herself up off the floor. "Just to. . . Just to catch my breath. . ."

"Take your time, My Queen." He nodded in an odd salute.

"Don't treat me like an elder." She scolded. "Just because I look this way does not mean I'm not still young!"

"Of course, My Queen." The Mirror smirked but made no further comment.

Slowly regaining her strength, she used the stick to stand on her own two feet and hobbled over to the Mirror. She hated how slow she was moving and how she ached with each step she took. Once she regained her youth, she would make sure to stay much more active so this problem did not plague her again. She stood in front of the large Mirror and felt the task before her to be very daunting.

"Now, how do I break the glass?" She asked as she looked up at the face of the Mirror. He suddenly seemed to be a lot higher than he ever was before.

"You have a stick, don't you?" He snorted at her.

"That's a little too simple, isn't it?" Her brow furrowed as she looked down at her walking stick.

"Now as simple as it looks." He shook his large head. "You see, since this is a mirror of your own making, it is something that only you can destroy. And it will be difficult since you put so much of your magic in this mirror."

"You won't get anything this grand again." She reassured as she picked up her stick.

"Oh, I don't believe I will." He chuckled again. "This was perhaps my favorite mirror to ever be on."

"You make it sound as if it will be your last." Her fingers curled around the wood and kept looking for a good spot to hold onto.

"Oh, I know it won't be." He smiled a rather genuine smile at her. "Are you ready, My Queen?"

"As I'll ever be. . ." She had more hesitation within her in breaking the Mirror than she had in throwing the Grimoire into the fire. It was odd the attachment she felt for the Magic Mirror, then again it was the first thing she had ever conjured up and it has been with her ever since.

"It has been an honor to serve you, My Queen." He smiled even deeper and closed his eyes, as if he awaited his fate.

She wanted to ask why he was so ready for this, but she knew that if she did, she would lost the resolve to break the glass, not to mention the energy. She lifted her walking stick over her head, it suddenly felt very heavy in her hands and had a weird gravity to it as she brought her stick down on the glass. She smallest of scratches appeared on the surface. She used all of her might, and all it could cause was a single scratch?

She was borderline between anger and disappointment, but much like all of her tantrums she allowed the anger to fuel her actions. With the stick in her hand she used more force behind her swing and brought it down on the glass again, and again, and again, and again until she could finally hear the cracking and the snapping of the glass.

Perhaps it was the back and forth motion of her moving, or perhaps it was the quick flow of her blood, or perhaps it was the thrill of destroying the glass, for whatever reason she wanted to laugh. That laughter escaped her and sounded more like a horrendous cackle, she did not entirely mind since she felt so thrilled to be doing something within her own power. With each strike against the glass she almost seemed to gain more and more strength from it; she loved the way that felt.

Despite the strength she hardly gained, her exhaustion slowed her down much faster. With one final strike which she threw her back into, the entire frame of the mirror shattered to tiny pieces of glass before it sprinkles into diamond dust and evaporated into thin air. All the strength she just had left her just as quick as it came.

Her lungs screamed for air, her body ached all over, her head felt light, but she felt oddly free.

"There." She huffed then cracked a cackle. "That's the last big one. . . That should buy us enough time to get to the mountain. . ."

She suddenly felt as though she were not alone in the room anymore and looked to the only available entrance anymore. She had to squint to see him, but she knew that Grünes was there. She hobbled over with her walking stick and grew more and more tired with each step.

"Grünes?" She squinted and blinked. "You returned faster than I thought you would. . . No matter. I'm ready to go. Do you have the apples?"

He held out the basket to her and she gleefully took it from him and slipped it over her wrist and slid her dangerous apple over the top of it.

"Good pet." She patted his shoulder. "Come, come. We must be going."

He followed her over to the gondola that shook and wobbled beneath her as she stepped down. She hated how unsure her footing was and could not wait to regain her youth and have some stability in her life. As soon as she made it, she sat down and looked expectantly at him.

"Get on." She commanded and Grünes did so.

He did so and she was jealous that it did not rock under his feet as he stepped onto the gondola. He gripped the pole and started to row them down the river. If she remembered correctly this river had a few different paths that would take them into the Dark Forest where the Mirror explained that Grünes found them in hiding.

After finding out that they were hiding with the Dwarves it was no wonder that they were able to hide so long without finding them. Where she had dwelled into the Dark Arts, the Dwarves were very knowledgeable of other forms of Magic Arts, but they focused primarily on the Light Arts. The Light Arts provided them with the magic they needed to hunt and mine their gems and craft such elaborate pieces of jewelry, goblets, and even crowns. Ever since she had been the Queen, though, they refused to make hardly anything for her because she would taint the things they created with her touch because of her Dark Arts. She allowed them to go to the festivals and fairs because they brought in unexpected revenue and brought in outside countries to do business with.

As the Queen sat in the gondola and just listened to the gentle swishing of the water as Grünes rowed, she could not help but think on her life as Queen. She was not the worst of rulers, but she was also far from the best. She had killed hundreds of individuals for exchange for youth and power. As she looked down at her weathered, wrinkled and mole ridden hands she wondered how much of this life she wasted was truly worth? The best thing she ever did for the country of Apfel was to allow the Dwarves to bring in their wares and to allow the taxes to be low to the people could live in harmony with little to no crime. She almost wondered if there were crime what she would have done to it, or even with it. The only criminals she allowed into the city fulfilled their task and were later killed by Adam. Having an endless supply of tools would have been useless. . .

What could she have done to have made this life more fulfilling? Perhaps nothing with the choices she made down the dark and tangled road. . .

As they came closer to the mouth of the tunnel her eyes already began to wince at the upcoming light. It was not terribly bright since they were leaving under the cover of the night, but still, the little remains of the light of day were still passing behind the mountain and was much brighter than she anticipated. The moment they passed the mouth of the tunnel, an odd warmth returned to her bones; a feeling she had long since forgotten after being in darkness for so long. She turned her head to the setting sun, at the last glimpse of day before dusk would set it. It almost seemed to wave goodbye to her as it went away for dusk and evening to set in. The warmth she once felt left just as quickly as she came and once again she was stuck in the darkness of night.

She glanced over her shoulder and took a good look at Grünes. He was the spitting image of Adam, which irritated her greatly, but those green eyes, those were Frederick's eyes. She thought she had forgone those feelings of longing long ago, but as she studied Grünes's stalwart face, she wanted to see Frederick. She knew she could never see him again, especially in this terrible condition, she did not deserve to see him again. She did not regret banishing him from Apfel, it was the only way she could save him. She only hoped he would find a happiness in a world without her.

Grünes's eyes suddenly locked with hers, almost expectantly in waiting for an order. With a sad look she turned forward again. She would take the path she had chosen head on.

"Keep rowing, Grünes." She commanded and settled in her seat. "Keep going until the ground is shallow enough that we will have no choice but to get out and set foot. From their we shall climb the mountain where we shall finally end things. . ."

* * *

Author's note:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story!

Please don't be too upset with this shorter chapter. Of course, I say that because I had to write this so it felt much shorter to me than usual, that could be entirely different when reading. There's quite a lot to come and much more to write for me. I hope you enjoyed reading a little more in the perspective of the Queen and Grünes.

Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. ^_^

Please feel free to share this story as well as the others on social media if you've grown so found of the story you would like others to enjoy it as well.

Thank you all so much to the loyal readers who have been here since the beginning. I will try to name most of you in the final chapter, but I just wanted to let you know that I do read the comments when I can, and it warms my heart to get feedback on the story. It has provided me with confidence that I have been seeking and a strength in my writing.

Thanks so much for coming along the journey with me, and stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter Forty-Five

ADAM

_October 1_

_September has officially ended, and the colder seasons have set in as October creeps upon us._

_Frederick has informed us that he has made his last trip up the mountain now that the harvest season has ended, and it is getting colder. Once it starts to snow it will be much more difficult of a task for him to make the hike, though the snow falls are still weeks away, he doesn't want to risk anything if he can help it. He has promised that he will make a hike up the mountain if he has any important news but will do his best to keep his trips to a minimum so as not to lure Grünes up the mountain._

_Even the Dwarves are dwindling down on their work. Doc has informed us that they will be sealing up the mines since it will be too cold to work in them and will work on their wood whittling instead. Apparently the Seven wish to have a contest of the best craftsmanship and they expect Snow White and I to be the fair judges of their craft. Such silly things are not matters that I wish to partake in, but I know they've come up with the idea to entertain Snow White now that things have almost decidedly shown that things won't get ready until spring._

_I can't help but find it ironic that things should get better in spring since spring provides hope for second chances, but I hate that we both have to wait through the savageness of the winter. Even I can't go far in the snow or my toxins will seep out onto the snow. In which case I will have to entrust the security of the enchanted barrier to the Seven, though I hate to ask that upon them. Not only do they expect this cold to be the worst they've yet to experience, but I hate the idea of them falling into a hole and freezing to death; not that they need to know of the concern I have for them. . ._

_The Grumpy Dwarf has informed me that Dopey will remain with Snow White at all times as the cold seasons set in so that I can make as many checks as possible. He is the only one who I can openly express my concerns with because ironically he is the most mature of the Seven and he is far from scared of having a conversation with me. Though I have been here with the Dwarves for months now they all have a good fear of me, save Dopey and Grumpy, and keep their respective distance from me. I don't blame them, though it is rather insulting given the fact I have protected them as well since they have provided so much for us._

_There have been no signs of Grünes nor the Queen since Frederick's last visit. One way or another they've completely vanished from Apfel, though I don't believe this. I anticipate them at almost every corner as I strengthen the enchanted barrier. I only wish they would appear so I could regain my sanity and simply be at peace knowing where they are so I can get rid of them. . ._

"Adam?" Snow White knocked on his door.

"Coming." He set his quill in the journal and closed it carefully before answering the door. She stood in a white and gray flannel nightgown holding two mugs of apple cider.

"Are you busy?" She asked shyly as she tried to peek into the room.

"No." He smiled and held the door open to show he had nothing to hide from her. "Is something the matter?"

"No." She shook her head and handed him his mug of cider. "I just reheated the apple cider and wondered if you wanted any. . ."

"I will always want anything you make, my darling." He reassured as he took the warm mug and sipped it. "Delicious."

"You flatter me too much." Her cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink.

"No, I compliment you, my darling." He corrected and stepped back so she could enter his room. "Would you like to come in?"

"Of course." She chirped as she shuffled into his room. He left the door open, just in case the Dwarves should come knocking. She went and sat on the bed and just looked around the room.

"Your room is a little more different than I thought it would be." She commented. "But I'm happy it's blue."

"Why does that make you happy?" He chuckled as he returned to his desk chair.

"Every time I see blue, I always think of you." She smiled and he felt a rush of heat to his face. He tried to cover it with by drinking his cider.

"I-I see." He cleared his throat and took a long gulp.

"My room is sunny yellow." She brought her mug to her lips and blew on the cider. "There's pretty accents of red, and my sheets are blue."

"Just like your dress. . ." He recalled the beautiful dress she made in the loveliest rich shade of royal midnight blue with deep red accent in the sleeves and the sunshine ray skirt that complimented her skin so nicely. "How fitting."

"I'm surprised you remembered." She said so happily.

"That is my favorite dress on you." He admitted rather shyly. "I remember you telling me how much time it took you to make it. . . It is my favorite dress on you so far."

"Really?" She beamed underneath her reddening cheeks. "Why?"

"Because it is my favorite." He stated flatly. He only had so much cider left in his mug. . .

"Why?" She pressed with a giggle. "Is it because I used a color similar to yours?"

"Yes. . ." He locked eyes with her. Her teasing immediately stopped, and she looked so surprised. Her little mouth was handing open and Adam's hand tightened around the handle of his mug.

"You're so cute." She bubbled in laughter and Adam almost wanted to argue that she was the cute one; but that would only cause an unnecessary scene that his heart would not be prepared for.

"What brings you up here?" He hoped changing the subject would be enough to distract her.

"I just wanted to bring you cider." She sighed after her laughter had finished and sipped on her cider. "it really is just the two of us here and I get a little lonely by myself. . . Don't you?"

"I've been used to being by myself." He stared down at the remaining cider in his mug. "It is only now that you and I live in this cottage together that I have learned what it is like to miss someone. . ."

"That's so sad.' She frowned as she looked at him. "But I'm glad you told me."

"Why?" his brow furrowed as he looked at her.

"You don't like to talk much about yourself. She pulled her legs up to her and hugged them as she held her mug. "I won't pry, but I like it when you tell me things. . . It shows that you trust me."

"You've only ever made yourself out to be a person that I can trust." He admitted.

"I'm glad then." She smiled honestly at him. "I would hate it if you didn't trust me."

"Are you excited for the craftsmen competition?" Adam asked.

"Oh yes." She bobbed her head in a nod. "Though, I must say that I think it will be very difficult to choose. They always make such pretty things."

"It will be interesting to see the Seven having a competition amongst themselves." Adam nodded in agreement. "I can't help but wonder how they will bicker."

"Not any more than they usually do." She joked behind her mug.

"It will be entertaining enough I suppose."

"I appreciate that they go to such lengths for me." She sighed and set her feet back on the floor. "But I can't help but wonder if they're tired of us being here. . ."

"You know that they don't." Adam said almost defensively. "You're very precious to them and they love having you here."

"I know. . ." She admitted quietly. "I'm sorry. . . I must be tired. . ."

"Must be." He watched her carefully. "Or missing home."

"Must be. . ." She admitted with a nod and sipped on her cider more.

"I made a promise that I would get you home." He reassured.

"I know." She nodded. In the pale moonlight of the night Adam could see a sad shimmering glint in her eyes. "I haven't forgotten. . ."

Seeing her like this always did a number on his heart and he hated it. He hated seeing her sad. She was much patient than he ever could be, but he knew that there was a limit to everything. She was doing her best to remain hopeful, but even he could see that she was struggling.

"How about tomorrow, you and I do something?" his brain whirled in trying to come up with something that would make her happy.

"Like what?"

"A picnic?" It was something they could still do outside together, but they would also remain within the barrier.

"Oh, a picnic would be lovely!" She clapped her hand on the mug. "I bet it'll be so pretty with all of the changing leaves!"

"I'll make sure to find us a pretty spot." He smiled at her. He already had a really nice place in mind for it. There was a lake he found, not too far from the cottages, that was always really pretty and relaxing to go see.

"I'll prepare a nice toasty lunch." She brimmed to the peak of happiness, stood, and flung her arms around Adam in a hug. "Oh, I'm so excited!"

"Me too." He patted the top of her head and smiled down at her. "I think we should go ahead and get some sleep. We'll need to be nice and rested up for our little adventure tomorrow."

"I can't wait!" She gave him one final squeeze before flitting to the door. "I'll even make sure to have some nice hot apple cider too!"

"I can't wait." He nearly melted in happiness by her sheer joy. She escaped into her room while he began his descent down the stairs. "I'll be back in a bit, Snow White."

"Why?" She peeked her head through the door.

"I'm going to let the Seven know that we will be out tomorrow." He explained. "That we may even be late for dinner."

"All right." She smiled even bigger.

"I'll lock up when I get back." He smiled back at her. "Goodnight, Snow White."

"Goodnight." She closed the door and he waited until he heard the click of the lock before descending the stairs.

He dropped his mug off into the sink before exiting out the door. The moment he stepped through the threshold; the cold autumn air swatted his face. It was getting much colder than he really liked, and he would plan accordingly so they were out in the peak of the heat of the day. With long strides he crossed the grass and knocked on the Dwarves' cottage. Grumpy answered almost immediately.

"What'd ya want?" He spat and glared at Adam for making him allow some of the cold into the cottage.

"I'm just letting you know that Snow White and I will be out on a picnic tomorrow." He said flatly. "If you would prefer that Dopey go with you instead of stay here, it's an option."

"It ain't an option." Grumpy shook his head. "Someone'll need to be here until you get back to get her."

"What?"

"You're doin' your usual patrol in the morning, right?" He sniffled grumpily as he looked up at Adam.

"Of course!"

"Then he'll stay here with her until then." Grumpy crossed his arms in finality. "Besides, he likes to sleep in rather than getting up at the crack of dawn."

"What shall he do until we get back, then?"

"We only plan to work a half day tomorrow anyways." Grumpy sniffled again. "None of us like this cold. It's getting too cold in the mines to be pickin' with pickaxes."

"All right." Adam nodded in agreement. "That works."

"Good." Grumpy groused. "Now get to bed!"

He shut the door tightly in Adam's face, which he took no offense too, and Adam took his leave to return to his own cottage. It must have been something in the air, for Adam found himself having a little pep in his step on his return to the cottage. If he were not so shy about letting the whole world know, he was very, very excited for the picnic tomorrow.

* * *

SNOW WHITE

The sun simply could not come up fast enough! She practically bolted upright when her eyes opened to the morning sun peeking through the window. Letting the covers fall from her, she slid on her pair of wool slippers and went over to her desk.

She had planned out what she was going to make for the picnic last night and was so excited about it. She was going to have to double check her supplies and the garden for what she would need. She knew she had enough bread for the two of them, not to mention enough salted meat for Adam. She wanted to make Open-Air Waldorf Sandwiches.

"Let's see. . ." She hummed through ha yawn as she looked over her recipe and ingredient list. "I'll need, eight slices of bread, a half-pound of celery stalks with stems, some Emmental cheese, salad cream, three small firm tomatoes, and salt and pepper."

She had made this for Adam mostly during the summer when he would go on long patrols and he always told her how much he liked it, especially when she would put in a few slices of black forest ham in it for him. She would not have any ham on hers, but she might put some pickled beets instead. She knew they were out of pickled beets, but that the Dwarves had some next door. She would go over there to make their lunch and would make sure to leave a plate and a note for Dopey.

But before she could make the lunch, she needed to check her sweet stash as well as the cider stash. The cider wouldn't take too long to make, and she could keep it on a low heat until she was ready to put it in the travel bottle for them. She would also look for a few other snacks for them along with her sweet treats. She simply loved to have something sweet to eat after a nice hearty sandwich.

There was also a few chores she needed to get done today too. She needed to air out the rooms, air out the sheets, do a little dusting, sweep, and make sure the house was nice and clean for when they returned. She knew that Adam didn't like it when she washed his sheets, something about his fear of her getting sick or being burned by his poisons that sometimes leak onto the sheets. She mostly does it in secret, making sure everything was exactly the way it was before she touched it, so he wouldn't know; though some part of her felt as though he knew anyways.

"So much to so, so little time." She huffed as she went to her wardrobe that the Dwarves made her. She pulled out Adam's favorite dress, which coincidentally was her favorite dress, and left it out to hang in the air. She would get dressed after she prepared a few things and did the chores. She would wear the boots and cloak to go with it since it was proving to be a chilly day today.

She went to her window and flung it open and loved every second of the crisp autumn air. Everything was changing colors all around them and it was so pretty. She didn't even know there were so many shades of red, orange, and yellow! Using the prop in the window she left it open and took her top cover comforter and hung it on the windowsill. She would let half of it bask in the morning air then let the other half bask in the air later. She made up her sheets, tucking everything in the proper place and making sure it was nice and tight before shuffling out of her room and going to Adam's door. She stood outside his room and gave three sure knocks. There was no answer and she peeked her head inside.

Adam got up early every morning and would go on his patrols. Normally he would be back by breakfast, but Snow White had the sneaking suspicion that he would be out until lunchtime today for their picnic. The thought made her smile, it meant he was working up and appetite for her.

Beaming with happiness she left the door wide open and went to his window. She had to climb up on the desk to open his window because of where he chose to position his desk. Although she hated to climb up on the nice furniture that the Dwarves made them, she knew that Adam liked to use as much natural light during the day as possible.

Standing on her knees on the desk, her leg felt the soft leather of the black journal Adam kept here. Usually he would have put it in a drawer or hid it somewhere she couldn't see, which she was thankful for, but since it was so close to her there was so much curiosity growing within her. She steeled her resolve and shook her head. No, she wouldn't read Adam's journal. That was his private life. He respected her by not reading hers, she would do the same and not read his.

Keeping her focus on the window, she propped it open as she did her own, went to his bed and pulled the top cover comforter off and did the same with his as she had done with hers. She had to climb on the desk, yet again, to hang half of it out the window. As she slid off the desk, her foot knocked the journal off the desk.

"Oh no!" She called as the pages began to bend and the quill fell from the book. She hissed a wince as she bent and picked up the book and immediately began to smooth out the pages. "I'm sorry." She whispered as she smoothed down each crinkled page.

She practically apologized to every page in the book as she smoothed each crinkled page down. She made sure not to read, though she couldn't help but notice dates and her name being written down several times. As much as she tried to ignore her curiosity, her eyes fell onto the entry dated September 21. She wouldn't have read it had the mission not said, "Keep Snow White safe." Her eyes lingered there for almost forever before they finally began to read the words written on the page. She loved how pretty and neat his handwriting was. She wished her own handwriting was as pretty as this. Still, it was the words themselves that began to move her heart.

_September 21_

_Mission: Keep Snow White safe._

_When I started his mission back in February, I assumed the mission would be accomplished by the end of the week. I never would have anticipated being here for three seasons already._

"Neither would I." She giggled to herself as she continued to read.

_Autumn just began and my anxiety has only gotten worse. I hate admitting that since living in this Realm has literally been a dream I never once had, every day is something new with Snow White and even the Dwarves have volunteered to show us where we could start a garden._

Her heart fluttered as she read that and she could not suppress her smile.

_Snow White seems happy, her reading and writing has greatly improved to the point I no longer have to assist her and she is even teaching Dopey how to write in exchange for being taught sign language. She especially enjoys taking care of the Dwarves by sewing them new clothes and repairing their clothes that need mending. She hasn't once mentioned returning to Apfel since the only time we returned to the village, but I know she goes miss it._

She paused there and just kept rereading the paragraph. She thought she was hiding it better than that. She felt oddly embarrassed that Adam could tell when she missed home so much, but the fact he had noticed from such a long time ago. . . Something swelled in her heart and her hand went to her necklace. Oh the things this man did to her heart. . .

_Since then Frederick climbs the mountain once a week to drop off flours, sugars, grains, and other things that we cannot grow, especially as old man Winter fast approaches us. He's keeping us stocked here so when the snow does come, we will be well prepared. In exchange the Dwarves give him enchanted gemstones for him to do with as he sees fit since he is now a smithy._

_Much to my own chagrin this Realm has been far too quiet for the Evil Queen to be residing in. I've done my routine of checking the perimeters, Grump the Dwarf has taught be patching enchantments to secure the barrier when it grows weaker, and as prepared as I am for something terrible to happen, nothing has yet to happen._

"Sometimes I wish he were more positive. . ." She sighed as she continued to read.

_I know we are safe here, but I cannot shake the foreboding feeling that we have been under watch these past few months; especially since Frederick says he has not seen hide nor hair of Grünes since that day. That really only confirms my fear that he is in the Dark Forest, or much worse, knows where we are_

"I wonder who Grünes would be?" Her brow furrowed as she continued to read.

_Had I discovered the technique of the Transfer Spell, perhaps I would not be as anxious. For a book of spells to be so literal, it give no advice nor rhyme to conjure this spell. I've nearly given up this godforsaken cure and have been ready to give up a blissful future with Snow White, but she talks so fondly of a future with me that I would hate to disappoint her._

Her brain almost seemed to stop as she reread that last sentence. "He wants a blissful future with me?" She giggled to herself like a child. "He actually wants a future with me!"

She should know better than that, but there were some days she feared he was simply go into disappear again and never return. She would not blame him since she wondered if she were more trouble than she was worth. She often times wondered if he would have been happier if Prince Florian would have succeeded in killing her. . . It's a thought she doesn't like to think about, but she has also been aware that most of the problems and complications that Adam always seems to get into is because of her. She has secretly thought about running away once or twice, either going to a new country, or even returning to Apfel so the Queen could kill her.

It wasn't that she did not value the life she had, but she felt that she was such a burden to people. She couldn't protect her servants from the Queen's clutches, she couldn't save her father, nor her mother; she feared the worst would happen to Adam if he continued to protect her. She wanted to have a happy life with him, go someplace where no one knew them, but her heart greatly missed Apfel, her apple tree, and the place that she grew up.

She let out a heavy sigh and shook away the nasty dark thoughts from her mind and continued to read.

_I've tried getting rid of the toxins by releasing them onto trees, but to no avail. I've tried to transfer the toxins onto some of the less precious gemstones the Dwarves mine, but I only cause them to go blackness that is easily removed with their enchanted holy water. I've even dared to bathe in a tub of this enchanted holy water for a whole week, but there is too many impurities within me that it has been impossible to remove it all. Not even the Dwarves enchantments or magics can help me, though they've been able to heal Snow White's scars and even repaired something in Snow White that caused her to fear she would never produce children._

"What?" She blinked in utter surprise and nearly dropped the book.

_Despite my own anxieties and fears, I can say that I am happy so long as she is happy and so long as I can keep her safe. Still the quiet in the forest and within the village is unnerving, I can't help but fear that pure evil will come much faster than I can stop it. . ._

"Oh, Adam. . ." She pressed her lips to the words on the pages and could feel the tears brimming in her eyes. It wasn't the most romantic of things, and she was very sure that this book held quite a few secrets that she wanted to learn more of, but she wouldn't read any more.

"You, silly man." She laughed and kissed the page once more. She wiped her eyes free of the tears and picked herself and the journal up off the floor. She set the journal open to the next clean page, picked the quill up off the floor, found the inkwell, and with pursed lips began to write.

_October 2_

_Dear Adam,_

_Please forgive me. I set about cleaning your sheets and your room, like you have asked me not to do several times in the past, and I knocked over your precious journal. I must also apologize for reading it, not all of it, but specifically the entry of September 21. I had not planned on reading any of it, I just wanted to smooth out the pages, but your special mission of keeping me safe caught my eye, and I must admit that I read it._

_Oh, my dear and precious Adam, how much I love and adore thee. You always seem to be looking out for me, seeing things that I try to hide, helping me when I most need it, and always finding someway to make me smile._

_I must admit a secret to you, that I have been losing hope recently. I've been worried I've caused too much trouble, and reading your journal only seemed to confirm that; but I can't say that I'm entirely sorry for that. You have made me so happy Adam, I only wish that there was some way I could return the favor for you._

_I know you've been trying really hard to get rid of your poisons, and though I dared the one kiss and I crave so many more, I've resisted giving you the second kiss because I really really want you to be the one to give it to me. Even if you were to kiss me in my sleep, and I never know of it, I would be ever so happy._

_Until the day comes where you and I can finally be together, no matter how long it takes, I promise that I will be waiting for you, Adam. You are the prince who saved me from the terrible world I only ever knew, and I look forward to the future of being by your side with you._

_Please don't lose hope. I know things have been tough so far, but I know you will find the answer. You always do. I believe in you, my Adam, I believe that you will overcome whatever tries to get in your way._

_Here's to the hopes of our future, and the hopes of my second kiss._

_Sincerely with all my love,_

_Your Snow White._

_Xoxo_

When she had finished her little note to him, she pressed her lips to the page and was rather embarrassed to see that a small red imprint had rested there. She set the quill inside the page, closed the journal, and closed his room; all the while her heart pounded in her chest at her confession to him. She hesitated outside of his door, debating on whether or not to tear it up, and decided to continue preparing the lunch instead.

With a song in her heart and a whistle blowing through the breeze Snow White set about cleaning their cottage and gathering the food and things she would need in a large basket. She warmed the apple cider on the stovetop, humming as she worked, and found a few cinnamon rolls to add into the mix. She set a nice cloth into the basket, to help keep the food warm when the thought occurred to her that they would need their own blanket to keep warm, or even sit upon. She went to the small storage closet that the Dwarves stocked with extra bedding and found a large blue flannel blanket.

"Perfect." She smiled as she folded it up and set it beside her basket. She continued her happy little humming tune when she suddenly noticed the time. It was almost eleven and Adam would be here in an hour to pick her up!

She rushed upstairs and hurriedly changed out of her nightgown and into the dress Adam liked so much. It was a little snug since she had put on a little weight since being here in the mountains. She was eating three times a day and ate almost as much as the Dwarves did. Still, she managed to squeeze into it and noticed that her bust had filled out the bodice rather nicely and that she liked the hourglass curve the dress gave to her. As she looked into the mirror she decided that she needed a red ribbon in her hair, just to pull the red in the puffed sleeves into the mix a little more, and did her best to tie it onto her head and keep the curls away from her face. Happy with how she looked, she slid on her slippers and grabbed the boots so they would be at the ready, and her cloak, and hurried downstairs.

Now aware of the time she felt extra hurried to get over to the Dwarves' cottage to prepare the sandwiches. Quickly pouring the apple cider into the travel bottle, she corked it, stuffed it into the basket with her other ingredients, and rushed over to the Dwarves' cottage. Like usual, the door was unlocked, and she tiptoed inside. She could hear that Dopey was snoring and did her best to stay quiet as she finished preparing the sandwiches. She opened the window so a little air could enter into the house.

Slice of bread, salad cream, black forest ham, celery, tomato, salt, pepper, cheese, and another bread slice, cut it diagonally, and that was Adam's sandwich. She repeated the same for Dopey's sandwich, singing under her breath. She was preparing the third sandwich when she suddenly heard a voice.

"Such beautiful singing." She heard an old crackly voice say.

"H-Hello?" Snow White called over her shoulder.

"Hello?" The old voice croaked and chuckled. "My, my, aren't you a pretty little pet."

She looked over her shoulder and saw an old woman standing outside the window. She nearly jumped at the old woman, not for how she looked, but because she genuinely surprised her! She had tangled white hair that needed brushing and wide, scary green eyes.

"Oh, h-hello." She started again and wiped her hands on a tea towel. "W-What are you doing out here?"

"I'm just an old woman out on a stroll." She laughed. "I won't have very many chances to exercise come winter, so I have to get out and walk when I can."

"You live around here?" She asked surprised as she approached the window.

"Ah, yes." She nodded her head. "I live higher up the mountain next to a great knotted oak tree."

"My, that is quite far." Snow White blinked in surprise.

"I've never seen you before, my pet." The woman noted. "I know the Dwarves live here, but I've never seen you before."

"Ah, my husband and I are living here with my uncles. . ." She wasn't sure why she was telling this woman this.

"I didn't know the Dwarves had a niece!" She gasped. "You're too pretty to be related to them."

"ah, I'm from out of town." She gulped. "You see, we're on our honeymoon, you see. . ."

"Ah, good times." The woman winked with a cackle. "Might I come in and have a sip of water, my pet? My joints are hurting at the moment and I could use a break."

"O-Of course." Snow White smiled and went to the door to help the woman in.

"Ah, thank you, my pet." The woman smiled and patted her hand as Snow White assisted her to a chair.

"Y-You're welcome." Snow White stammered as she took a step back. Her hand suddenly felt itchy, as if it had been bitten by ants. "Let me go get you that water."

She scurried to the kitchen and quickly grabbed a cup and went to the sink and pumped the water into the cup. The woman sat quietly, examining the Dwarves' cottage and smiled as Snow White came around the corner.

"Ah, thank you." She took the water and took several gulps before leaning on her cane. "All alone, my pet?"

"Why yes I am." She admitted, a hand going to her chest. There was something familiar about this woman. Snow White knew for a matter of fact she had never once met her before, but she was so familiar; somehow.

"No men to take care of the pretty girl?" The woman blinked her eyes in surprise.

"No, they're not." She shook her head, and suddenly felt overcome with the feeling that she shouldn't tell her too much. "T-They're out working right now. But they'll be back for lunch soon."

She sniffed the air then chuckled. "Making lunch for them now, are we?"

"Why yes." She nodded her head with a furrowed brow. "M-My husband and uncles will be coming back soon."

"I imagine your food must taste really good." The woman pointed a long boney finger at her. "Would you like something to add to your special lunch?"

"W-What's that?" She swallowed and tried to keep her smile to remain polite. In all honesty, she wanted nothing more than to close the window tight and hide.

"Apples." The old woman smiled and showed her basket of apples. There were green and yellow apples all around the basket, but a beautiful red one rested on top.

"Apples." Snow White loved apples. That red one specifically seemed to be calling to her.

"I grew them myself." The woman said proudly.

"M-My, they do look delicious." Snow White drew a little closer to the window.

"Yes." She picked up the red one on top and held it out. "But wait 'til you taste it! It'll be the best thing you ever tasted!"

She let out a chuckle and there was an odd glimmer in her eye that Snow White didn't like. As much as she knew that she shouldn't, it had been such a long time since she had had an apple. Not an apple pie, or a tart, but a fresh juicy apple was something Snow White had missed.

"Would you like to try one?" She crooned, practically holding the apple out to her.

"Oh, but I m-mustn't." She shook her head and smiled politely. "I would hate to ruin my appetite for lunch!"

"Oh, go on." The woman persisted and held the pretty red apple out to her. "Just have a bite, just one bite and you'll see how delicious it tastes."

She practically shoved the apple into Snow White's hands and she had no choice but to accept it.

"T-Thank you." Snow White's smile was growing very strained to keep. "I'll share it with my husband later."

"No!" The woman stood up suddenly. "No, you must eat it now!"

"W-Why?" Snow White retreated a step.

"You see, my apples are magical."

"Magical?" She blinked. "You're a witch?"

"A good witch, mind you, my pet." She chuckled and patted her cheek. "This apple is a wishing apple."

The itchy feeling of ants came to her cheek and Snow White wanted this woman to leave.

"A w-wishing apple?" Snow White questioned as she carefully moved her face away from the hand. As much as this woman frightened her, she seemed to have good intentions. She knew the Dwarves after all, surely, she was a good person, and a good witch as she claimed. . .

"Yes." The woman nodded her head. "Just one bite will grant your deepest wish and make it come true!"

"Really?" Snow White looked down at the red apple. It seemed too good to be true.

"Yes, my pet." The woman nodded encouragingly. "My red apples work the best. All you have to do is make a wish then take a bite."

The apple suddenly felt very heavy in her hands. If this were true, then she could wish for Adam's curse to be lifted, and they could finally be together. . . . Still she couldn't figure out why she felt itchy.

"Come on, sweetheart." The woman tutted. "Surely there must be something your heart desires. Perhaps it is for someone you love if it is a wish that is not for yourself."

"I m-mean I do. . ." He heart raced and she wanted to run and hide. "And I want this wish to come true. I very very much want this wish to come true. . . but can this apple really make it happen?"

"But of course!" She said excitedly. "Now take the apple, my pet, and make a wish and make sure you take a big bite."

The old woman finally took a step back from Snow White and watched in waiting to see what Snow White would do. Snow White held the apple in her hands and looked at it. Should she really put all of her wish into one apple? Magical or not this seemed far too good to be true. But, what if it really worked? What if it really did break Adam's curse? This was a big risk to take. Surely, the worst that would happen would be that the apple wasn't really magical and was just a normal apple, right?

Her heart pounded in her chest as she brought the red apple closer to her lips. She would do anything to help Adam, to repay him all the kindness he had in turn shown to her. If making a wish on a magic apple was the way to do it, then she would take a bite. She would do it if it meant saving Adam.

"I-I. . ." Her hands shook, as if her entire body were telling her not to do it.

"Go on, pet." The woman encouraged and took another step back, giving Snow White a little more room to breath in.

"I wish. . ." She pursed her lips and her mouth watered. "I wish that Adam's curse of poison would be removed from his body, so that we can finally be together."

Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth and took the biggest bite she could. The apple was sweet, juicy, and tasted just like her own apples from her apple tree. It was so good she almost dared to take another bite.

"Good girl." The woman chuckled, but she sounded very far away. "Now, when you wake up, everything will be set right and will just as it should have been."

"When I . . ." The room blurred and seemed to spin all around her. "When I wake up?"

She let the apple fall from her hands and held onto the wall with one hand and her head in the other.

"If you ever wake up, you foolish girl!" The woman let out a loud cackle, but she also sounded so far away.

She tried to hold herself up by the wall, but her knees just couldn't seem to hold her up and she suddenly felt so, so tired.

"Adam. . ." She couldn't help but call as her knees hit the floor. "Adam."

"He won't be saving you now, brat." The woman's voice changed somehow. "I've already made sure of that."

Her body's weight was much more than she could bear and as she took her last glimpse at the front door, she held her hand out towards the door, almost as if to crawl to the door. "Adam. . ." She called one more time, trying to stay awake to see him come in for her. He always came for her, she knew he would come for her. Surely, he would be here soon, it was almost time for lunch.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Thanks so much for reading! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far!_

_So, for the Open-Air Waldorf Sandwich, I had to do a little digging. Granted, at this time in history I don't know if they really made sandwiches, or it they called them that since sandwiches became more of a popular food in 1816, and picnics started between the 18-19th centuries, but I think in the medieval times they would have scrapped together what they had and ate it during lunch times. So though that is a little historical inaccuracy on my part it was a necessary evil_

_Mwhahahaa._

_But for any of you who would like the recipe I used: /recipes/waldorf-sandwich-open-air/. This is the website (hopefully it shows up) that will have it._

_What's going to happen next? Will it be the Happy, Good, or Bad ending?_

_Leave a review and let me know what you think!_

_Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!_

_Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter_


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter Forty-Six

ADAM

Adam awoke early, right before dawn while the moon was still high, just as he normally did, and immediately set about to get ready for his early morning patrol. Today he would be making a longer patrol since he would be on a picnic with Snow White. He was jittery in his excitement for the day's events and he could not stop smiling. He almost wished he could stop smiling, but every time he thought about going on his little date with Snow White, he couldn't help himself. He tried not to fight it too much since he wanted to be positive today.

He was overly aware how his anxiety and fears have been ruling him like a hamster on a wheel to do the same things every day. Both he and Snow White needed a little time to themselves, without the Dwarves interference and away from the cottages, just so they could have one day of happiness while they figure out how to get things settled before spring comes. Adam wanted to have had all of this resolved before the end of summer, but there are simply too many things outside of his control.

Slipping into his coat and tying the laces of his boots, Adam carefully shut the door behind him. In the quiet of the early morning, Adam could hear the soft snores of Snow White in her room and it only encouraged the smile to stay on his face. Staying as quiet as he could, he descended the stairs and exited the house. Normally he would cast an enchantment on the door as he left, but since he planned on coming back to change, he decided to wait until his return to do so.

Standing outside his cottage he looked over to the right and saw that the Dwarves, only six of them, were lining up and leaving. Doc led the way with Grumpy in the rear. He looked especially grumpy this morning, between having to get up and being in this cold, Adam couldn't blame him. Still, Grumpy shut the door behind him and stepped into line with the others. Instead of going over to enchant the Dwarves' cottage he decided to go ahead and check the perimeter. He would be out longer than normal this morning, but since he planned to come straight back, he would enchant their house as soon as he came back.

Though the morning air was cold, it was rather refreshing too, almost as if it knew that today would be a good day. He had five checkpoints that he would examine along the perimeter, the first being the closest to the cottages by six miles at the edge of the Dark Forest. The next would be a ten-mile hike at the last edge of the Dark Forest before it connected to the cliff. From the cliffs he would go to the lake where he planned to take Snow White today. He might even brush away leaves at the perfect spot. The fourth and fifth were two more spots behind the cottages that would be a little more difficult to get to.

In a matter of minutes, he was already at the first part of the barrier where he quickly set off to the second one at the cliffs. It was actually part of the reason why he got up so early, he liked to catch the sunrise of each day. It almost seemed to promise him the hope of a better tomorrow as it lit up the land. Still feeling a little jittery, Adam broke out into a jog that eventually turned into a run to get to the cliffs. He loved the way his blood pumped and his adrenaline pushed him to go faster and farther. It just gave him a weird feeling of being free.

The cliffs howled on the wind in his welcoming his arrival and he just barely beat the sun to the spot so he could watch it rise. He whispered the enchantments for the barrier as he watched the sun rise. As it rose the sun was especially red today. Adam was rather taken aback by that, but the sun remained red as it climbed above the trees. As he watched it rise, an old sailor's tune ran through his mind.

"Red in the morning, sailor take warning. . ." He mumbled to himself. "Red at night, sailor's delight."

They were nowhere near a sea, Apfel was very much landlocked, so he found it very odd that such a thing would come to him at this time. The tale had a lot to do with how the sea was supposed to fair, but it also had to do with how the weather would act for the day. Adam felt his smile falter and all the happy unfamiliar feelings went away and allowed the anxious well-known ones to return.

"Please let this be a good day." He said aloud as he turned his head to the clouds in the sky. "Please, we just need one reprieve for the long winter's hardships."

Not that he was expecting anyone or anything to answer him, but Adam was unnerved by the silence and he wanted to return home instantly. He turned and looked in the direction he would need to take to get to the cottage and pursed his lips. He wanted to go back to the cottages immediately, but he needed to at least secure the lake before he returned.

Moving quickly, Adam entered another part of the forest to find the lake. He happened across it one day on his patrol and made it one of the parts for the barrier so he could go and see it every day. It was such an odd thing he wanted to see every day, but it broke up the monotony of trees and swamps. The air was cleaner, the water was clearer, and it was a serene place he liked to go to.

The leaves crunched under his feet and he was sniffing the air to know when he was close. The lake had a very different smell to it than the swamps, like a sweet perfume to a musty dumpster, but as he continued to sniff the air, something was off. Instead of going directly down the middle, like he normally did, Adam decided to climb the boulders that created a wall at the entrance of the lake. It was a if the mountain had fallen at one point and all the rocks and boulders wanted to protect the small body of water somehow.

Staring down below, nothing was different about the forest floor, but he immediately noticed that there was a gondola in the lake. From this point of view he could see that there was a small branch from the lake, a river perhaps, where the gondola could have entered in from. Seeing the boat, his blood ran cold and he knew today would not be the good day he wished for. With a frown, he turned to leave and nearly jumped off the edge as he looked at an exact replica of himself with green eyes. With a large rock in his hand preparing to smash it over Adam's head.

He quickly moved to the right to dodge it and as soon as the rock made contact with the earth, it shattered into smaller fragments. Adam held his breath, waiting for the next attack, and looked at Grünes.

"So, you're Grünes?" Adam glared, his hands curling into fists, and all the raw anger and anxiety that had built up over the months rushed back to him.

Grünes said nothing and stared at him blankly with those green eyes, as if he hadn't understood what Adam had said. He just tilted his head to the left before straightening up, pulling back a first, and hurled himself forward at Adam.

Holding up his arms to shield his face, Adam quickly grabbed Grünes by the wrist, spin him around and tried to sling him to the ground, however, Grünes's reflexes were strange and his body contorted so his feet met the ground and Adam was the one that was slung through the forest.

Swiveling his body around, Adam used the strength of the forest's trees to catch him and regain his footing quickly to evade Grünes's next oncoming strike. Adam barely moved out of the way and watched the tree he had used as his leverage be splintered off into slithers. For once Adam was actually aware that this fight could cost him his own life if he wasn't careful.

Not wasting time to allow Grünes to engage again, Adam held out his hand and started expelling some of the toxic poisons from his body. Dark purple globs expelled from his body and joined together to form larger orbs. Pulling back his arm, he flung the poisonous orbs at Grünes, but he immediately ran off and barely missed the orbs. His own black coat began to singe from the burning poison and eat away at the edges of Grünes's coat.

An odd adrenaline rush, just on the border of that old blood lust, began to fuel Adam as he ran headfirst into the battle, emitting more poisons from his body, making them stronger, deadlier and kept flinging them at Grünes. Grünes was very good at running and dodging, but each time Adam threw more and more he could see Grünes's coat being eaten away by the poisons. The poisonous globs just kept eating away at his coat until it was almost to his waste. As if finally noticing it, Grünes discarded his coat from his body and pulled out a pair of daggers that were hidden underneath the coat.

He held the jagged daggers with the blades pointing down, and those green eyes were only growing more and more feral by the minute. Bending his knees and getting down low, Grünes ran at Adam as though he were a feral madman just out for blood, which Adam knew he was out for far more than that. Still flinging his poisons about, Adam had to take steps back and to the side as he evaded and avoided Grünes's haphazard strikes.

Adam hadn't even had the chance to draw his own sword because Grünes's attacks just kept coming, and coming. There was no end to them. Twice he nearly drew his sword, and twice Grünes nearly sliced his neck.

It was almost as if the two were in a dead dance of death as they continued to hack away at each other and kept dodging the other until Grünes's blade finally caught hold of Adam's left arm and he sliced it down. A gash from his elbow to his wrist that had inky red and purple slithering from the wound, bled through his now shredded coat sleeve. The stabbing feeling mixed with his own poisons caused enough pain through Adam to make him want to rip his arm off. Still only able to dodge, Adam's cheek was met with the blunt end of the dagger and was knocked to the ground. He did a half roll before catching himself on his bad arm and was further tackled by Grünes.

Grünes now straddled him, daggers raised high, but Adam took the chance, grabbed a rock in his hand and flung the rock along with as much of his poison at Grünes's face. Grünes let out a terrible shriek that was the shrill of a pig as he rolled off Adam and held his face. Globs of purple ate away at the left side of his face. Gritting his teeth and using his bare hands to pull it off his face, Grünes only continue to shriek in pain as the poisons burned his flesh.

"Looks like you're not as resistant to poison as I am." Adam heaved as he took the chance to draw his sword. Running at Grünes, who was thrashing about trying to remove the poisons still, Adam sliced his sword down, only for it to get caught by Grünes's jagged dagger.

Through gritted teeth trying to refrain from shrieking further, Grünes glared at Adam, and snorted before shoving Adam off and slicing the air madly with his daggers again. Grünes was much stronger than Adam had anticipated, and his reaction times to things were just as quick as his own. The Evil Queen had practically made another version of himself, though he knew that Grünes was not as whole, nor that his life was truly meant to anything in any of the Realms. Had the Evil Queen not succeeded in creating Adam first, perhaps he would have been as mindless and obedient as Grünes. But he had something to live for, something to fight for, something to actually look forward too, he would not be bested by an insignificant failed copy of himself.

Metal continued to grind and catch on metal.

Grunts were passed, poison was thrown.

Clothes were torn, blood was shed.

Pain had been inflicted on them both and neither of them would back down, despite the exhaustion that was growing ever apparent on them both. Grünes was staggering more now that so much poison was in his body and Adam could hardly feel sorry for him as he had caused many gashes on his own body. Still, the battle had been drawn out far too long by now and Adam needed to get back to Snow White. If Grünes was here with him, that had to mean that the old hag was out and about trying to cause trouble.

"How about we finish this, eh, Grünes?" Adam panted, his sword being heavy in his own hand.

Still not wanting to end the fight, Grünes lunged forward, but Adam was just as quick with his sword as Grünes was with his daggers. Just a hair's breadth away from his own throat was where the tips of Grune's daggers rested, but deep in Grünes's stomach was where Adam's sword rested.

The daggers fell from Grünes's hands and now gripped the sword that was plunged into his stomach. With desperate and angry attempts, Grünes tried to remove the sword, but Adam held firm.

"Don't be too angry, Grünes. . ." Adam panted as he struggled to keep his hands on the hilt of the sword. "You fought hard, and if you had a soul, you would have been of equal measure to me. . ."

Just as the words escaped his mouth, his eyes widened, and he looked at the still struggling and fading Grünes.

"The transfer can only be done of that with equal measure." He repeated quickly and stood firm as the words from the Transfer spell began to flow from him.

"Let it be trapped under the full moon this night, Between us, the two of equal measure and equal blight." He grunted as Grünes almost seemed to be fighting back harder now. It was almost as if he knew what was about to happen. There would be no escape for him now.

"From I born out of hate and scorn," Adam's voice rose and he felt lighter, as if his burdens were leaving him. "Let this cursed magic begone and transferred to this poppet whom none shall mourn."

As the words flowed from him, so did the poisons to the sword, and from the sword did they instill themselves to Grünes, who in turn threw back his head in pain and agony as twenty years of poison entered his body. With the feeling of being lighter, a terrible burning purged itself in Adam and too let out his own yells of pain until Grünes's body suddenly flung itself free from the blade, breaking it in half, and convulsed on the ground.

Purple black and even ominous shades of green poison oozed itself from Grünes's open stomach wound, his eyes, his nose, and even his mouth until his body froze and became black until it caught fire, turned to ash, and was sent away on the wind.

"Did it. . .work?" The broken blade clattered as it fell from his hand and Adam looked down at his hands. From using so much poison the gloves had been burned off and even the previously open wounds were sealed and were just scars. Still looking at his hands, he fell to his knees and simply tried to catch his breath.

He definitely felt lighter, but that could also have been from the lack of blood he had lost in battle, but other than that he had no way of knowing if he had truly been successful in getting rid of every last ounce of poison from his body. If even the tiniest teaspoon had remained, it would only re-manifest itself within him.

"God, how I hate magic and curses." He hissed as he pushed himself from the forest floor and back to his feet. He wobbled and staggered and his head made him feel dizzy, but he didn't have a moment to lose. He needed to see Snow White. What was worse was that his vision was starting to blur and get black around the edges.

Turning to leave, he forced his body to move, but after the recent events it was moving the slowest it ever had. He had to use the trees for support as he forced himself to walk. He was several miles from the cottages and that put too much time between him and the old hag getting to Snow White first. Gritting his teeth and further forcing himself to move, he trudged through the Dark Forest. He would go back the way he came, it would be the fastest way, plus once he made it the first enchantment he would be nearly there!

"Come on." He panted as he stopped using the trees for help. "You have to save her. . . You have to protect her. . . You made a promise!"

Despite his own body defying him, he pushed himself and kept going past the cliffs and back to the Dark Forest enchantment. His body screamed at him, his lungs felt clogged, everything was far too dark, and everything was deafening louder than it should have been.

He stumbled over tree roots and kept falling on the trees, but he made it to the first enchantment spot. From there he squinted at the cottages. He could see smoke coming from their own chimney, but the front door was wide open to the Seven's house. Pushing himself off the tree, he had hardly made any progress when he recognized a terribly shade of green and purple hat. It was Dopey, he was pulling his hat over his ear and screaming.

"No." Gravity suddenly increased, and Adam wanted to vomit. "No, no, no."

No longer defiant, his body kicked itself into gear and he ran. He ran faster and faster all the way to the cottages. Dopey was frantically saying something to him, crying all the while.

"Where is she?" Adam demanded as he asked with his hands. "Where is she?"

Crying and practically screaming, he pointed into the house.

"Snow White!" Adam called and ducked into the cottage. "Snow White!"

He looked around the living room, nothing. His entire body turned to the kitchen and it felt as though winter finally came and everything froze. There she lay face down, in his favorite dress, the dress she made for him, eyes shut tight and an apple not too far from her hand.

"S-Snow White?" He called and went to her, picking her up in his arms. She was warm, but she wasn't moving.

"Snow White?" He whispered and with a shaky hand poked her cheek. She didn't stir.

"Please, my darling." His eyes were hot as his entire hand caressed her cheek. "My love, My Snow White, please wake up. . ."

His voice wobbled and his hands shook as he gingerly and ever so gently petted her head, held her face, moved her so gently but trying to wake her.

"No." The first tear fell as he looked at her long lovely eyelashes and those red lips. "No, this wasn't supposed to happen!"

He drew her closer into his arms, hugging her, rubbing her arms. She was still warm, still breathing, but she wasn't waking up! Her head rolled onto his chest, and he pressed his forehead to the top of her curls as his tears fell. Unintentionally he began to rock the already sleeping maiden in his arms, begging, pleading that she wake up.

Time stood still and soon his own screams of mourning joined Dopey's. The clock struck twelve and he heard the shuffling of feet and the "Hi, Ho" sounding in the distance. Not wanting to be seen in a sorry state, nor wanting to worry them any more than they were going to, Adam scooped up Snow White into his arms and held her against his chest before standing and taking her to their cottage. He would lay her in her own bed so she would stay warm and so he could properly explain things with the Dwarves.

His body moved mechanically stiff and it was only by the sheer force of his will power that he was able to do so. His heart ached as it screamed at him with regrets, anger, and just the overall sadness of the situation. She wasn't dead, he could feel her soft breathing and see the rise and falling of her chest, but she wasn't waking up. It was as if she were under a sleeping curse, which knowing how that old hag worked, it wouldn't surprise him.

Upon entering the house Adam half expected her to awaken, and was sorely disappointed when she continued to dream. His eye burned with more tears threatening to fall, but he bit the inside of his lips, ascended the stairs, and entered her room. It smelled of sunshine and the autumn air from the window being open, but it was still warm, as if she had just left. He carefully laid her on her bed, resting her head delicately on the pillow and her feet at the end. He slipped off her shoes, pulled the comforter from the window, and draped it over her. He took a step back and just stared down at her sweet sleeping face.

She had the prettiest lashes, even in a terrifying sleep, and looked so peaceful. He hoped she had happy dreams because he was living a nightmare in reality. He tore his eyes away from her, closed the window to her room, and left her room. As the door clicked behind him he could hear the other Dwarves talking and consoling Dopey. His hands clenched into fists as he descended the stairs and tried to think of what to even remotely say to them. This was all his fault; he had failed to protect her and now she was in a cursed sleep. Exiting the cottage, the Six surrounded the Seventh, trying to get him to calm down, but as soon as Dopey caught sight of Adam, he flung away from his brothers and bolted to Adam. He fell at Adam's feet and held the end of his tattered coat.

"Dopey come back!" His brothers hollered after him.

"Ih'm sovvy!" He cried allowed. "Ih'm sorry!"

His head dropped and rested against Adam's knees. The realization hit him that Dopey was blaming himself for this. Biting the inside of his mouth so hard he tasted bits of iron, Adam knelt down and wrapped his arms around Dopey. There was nothing he could say that Dopey would hear, but he wanted to convey that this wasn't his fault and that he was not mad at him. If anything he was furious with himself for falling into the trap.

"It's all right. . ." Adam said as he patted the small Dwarf's back. "It's not your fault. . ."

"What the hell is goin' on?" Grumpy roared as he stomped over to Adam. "Why is Dopey crying you -?"

"Grumpy don't!" Doc was close along with the others as they trotted over to meet Adam and Dopey.

Whatever else Grumpy was going to say fell away as Adam looked up at him. Adam wasn't sure what face he was making, he was sure he looked terrible from his battle with Grünes.

"What happened?" Grumpy glared, his hands balling into fists. "Why do you look like you've been to hell and back?"

"What's wrong, Adam?" Doc asked. Happy and the other Dwarves pulled Dopey away from Adam and tried to communicate with him.

"Everything. . ." Adam's hands fell to his sides limply.

"Where's Snow White?" He looked back to the cottage,

"She's . . . sleeping. . ." Adam found a terrible lump to swallow in his throat.

"What?"

"Don't be lying to us, boy!" Grumpy spat. "What's happened?"

"The Evil Queen was here. . ." Adam grimaced in admittance.

"Where were you?" Grumpy pointed a finger as the others gasped.

"I was in a battle with her minion Grünes at the third enchantment point. . ." Adam looked down at his hands. "I was able to get rid of the poisons in me, I think, and I hurried back here, but when I did, Dopey was screaming – for help I think – and when I saw her, she was on the ground. Sleeping."

"Why was she on the ground?" Grumpy's brow furrowed.

"She took a bite of the Evil Queen's poisoned apple. . ." Adam explained.

"How do you know this?" Grumpy squinted suspiciously at him.

"Because the black apple is lying on the floor in your cottage!" Adam snapped. His hands went through his hair and he pulled slightly. "She took a bite of the apple and now she's sleeping, and she won't wake up!"

His eyes were hot, tears wanting to fall.

"Is there a way to undo it?" Doc asked calmly.

"I don't know." Adam shook his head pitifully. "I don't know. She never once told me about this. . . I had no way of knowing. . ."

"Right." Doc nodded his head understandingly and turned to his brothers. "Men, get Dopey into the house, and clean up any mess that's there so he doesn't continue to be in hysterics."

"What are you gonna do?" Grumpy groused and crossed his arms as he looked between Doc and Adam.

"I'm going to see if there's anything we can do." Doc said simply. "Adam, I need you to take me to her."

Wordlessly and very mechanically Adam rose from the ground and led the Dwarf to their cottage. He walked slow enough so Doc would keep up and wasn't surprised in the least when Grumpy tagged along.

The cottage was unnervingly quiet as the three entered the house, and the gravity of everything seemed to weigh heavily on Adam. He took them upstairs and Doc didn't even gasp when he saw Snow White. Adam remained at the doorway and watched as Doc looked her over, making hand gestures and motions as he pulled different examining enchantments to examine her. Grumpy stood outside with Adam. Adam couldn't help but pray and hope that Doc had some sort of answer. However, when Doc sighed it felt as though all hope was lost.

"She's definitely asleep." Doc confirmed as he stepped away from her. "She's under some magic of the Dark Arts too."

"Is there anything you can do?" Adam asked much weaker than he expected.

"'Fraid not." Doc shook his head with a grimace. "We use the Light Arts, if we tried to do anything to wake her up, it could have an ill effect on her."

"Nothin' we can do?" Grumpy asked through gritted teeth.

"Nothin' save do our bests to keep her alive." Doc sighed.

"What?" Adam blinked.

"We can't do anything to wake her up." Doc restated. "But we can make something for her that will protect her and keep her alive until you can figure out a way to break the curse."

"I don't even know where to begin." Adam raked his hand through his hair as his mind whirled on what to do.

"You can start by tracking that witch down." Grumpy harrumphed as he went to the stairs. "I'll tell the others what we must do. Take care of this one."

"Right." Doc sighed as he looked up at Adam. "Let's get you fixed up."

"I'm fine." Adam said reflexively.

"Have you seen yourself?" Doc asked gently. "If she were to wake up right now, she'd be terrified because you look like you crawled around in Darkness. . ."

Stepping away from Snow white's room, Adam went to the bathroom and saw how truly haggard he looked. He was battered, bruised, and bloodied all over, not to mention the ruined state of his clothes and the ever-present new scars on his body. He had never once had to worry about that before because his body naturally and quickly healed itself. . . this was definitely going to be something to get used to.

"Just take a seat and let me look you over." Doc ordered as he pointed to the edge of the tub.

Adam did as he was ordered to do and glared at the floor during his own examination.

"You fought hard." Doc commented as he held Adam's left arm out where jagged daggers tore the skin. "Gonna need stitches here."

"Just do whatever you need to do." Adam sighed.

"You must have actually gotten rid of the poisons in you." Doc spoke gently as he cleaned the wound. "Before now you wouldn't have let any of us get close to you without a ten-foot pole."

"It was necessary." Adam said bluntly.

"Though the princess refused to listen to any of us on that. . ." Doc laughed half-heartedly.

"Oh how I wish she would have. . ." Adam pressed his face into his other hand as Doc began the stitches. The needle pricked his skin and caused him to grit his teeth, but he was glad that the physical pain was enough to momentarily distract himself from the pain in his heart.

"I know you and Dopey are blaming yourselves. . ." Doc said as he kept his eyes trained on the wound. "And I know you're not going to believe me when I say this –"

"Don't you dare say it wasn't my fault." Adam said sharply.

"But it isn't!"

"But it is." Adam hissed. "If I hadn't fought Grünes – "

"You would have either been with her, or off at the next enchantment spot where something even worse could have happened to her." Doc said sternly.

"You're saying this isn't the worst thing that could have happened to her?" Adam looked evenly at Doc.

"Is she dead?" Doc asked simply.

"No."

"Is she hurt?" Doc resumed his stitching of Adam's arm.

"Not that I know of. . ."

"Is she safe?"

"Now, but not when it happened!"

"Are you just going to let her continue to sleep?"

"Of course not!" Adam jerked his arm away from Doc. The needle and thread hung from his arm. "But my being here in this Realm makes this my fault entirely!"

"But you saved her instead of killing her, didn't you?" Doc crossed his arms as he looked at the now stunned Adam.

"You knew?"

"We knew you were dangerous." Doc admitted. "But when you kept coming back and begging us to hide her here, we knew something changed within you."

"So much has changed. . ." He slumped against the wall and Doc picked up his arm again and continued his sewing.

"Yes, yes it has." Doc nodded his head. "And if there's anyone who's going to break her curse, it's you."

"How are you so sure?" Adam looked at him skeptically.

"You broke your own curse, didn't you?" Doc smiled kindly at him. "You'll break hers. And we'll watch over her until you do."

"Curses are never simple."

"Neither is life." Doc tied the knot to the stitches before cleanly cutting away the needle and thread. "The tragedy that has befallen us is no one's fault, Adam." Doc said sternly. "If we were going to pin the blame on anyone it would be all of us equally. The men and I went to work instead of staying here; you went on patrol instead of staying here; Dopey slept in instead of waking up. You fought the enemy and won and took one less obstacle out of the way. There was no way any of us could have anticipated this happening."

"I should have. . ." Adam's hands balled into fists.

"But you didn't." Doc groaned as he stood, his knees popping. "You can't change what has happened, but do you best to change things now."

Adam said nothing in response because Doc was right, though Adam would still continue to blame himself for his failure.

"Now stop blaming yourself and get some rest. . ." Doc sighed and suddenly looked ancient. "The others and I will do our best to get things ready while you rest."

Without looking back, Doc left Adam alone and exited the cottage. Deciding to attempt to listen to Doc, Adam pushed himself up from the edge of the tub and went to his room. The window was open and the room was cold and he saw the pages in his book bouncing back and forth on the gentle wind in the room. With a sigh he went to the window, pulled his comforter from it, closed the window, and placed his hand on the pages to keep them from fluttering.

He glanced down at the words on the page, and the script written on the pages were not his handwriting. It was Snow White's handwriting.

"What in the . . ." He dropped the comforter and stared at the words on the page. His eyes watered as he picked up the book and read.

_October 2_

_Dear Adam,_

_Please forgive me. I set about cleaning your sheets and your room, like you have asked me not to do several times in the past, and I knocked over your precious journal. I must also apologize for reading it, not all of it, but specifically the entry of September 21. I had not planned on reading any of it, I just wanted to smooth out the pages, but your special mission of keeping me safe caught my eye, and I must admit that I read it._

He wasn't even mad.

_Oh, my dear and precious Adam, how much I love and adore thee. You always seem to be looking out for me, seeing things that I try to hide, helping me when I most need it, and always finding someway to make me smile._

Oh the aching in his heart at those words.

_I must admit a secret to you, that I have been losing hope recently. I've been worried I've caused too much trouble, and reading your journal only seemed to confirm that; but I can't say that I'm entirely sorry for that. You have made me so happy Adam, I only wish that there was some way I could return the favor for you._

Just waking up would be enough. . .

_I know you've been trying really hard to get rid of your poisons, and though I dared the one kiss and I crave so many more, I've resisted giving you the second kiss because I really really want you to be the one to give it to me. Even if you were to kiss me in my sleep, and I never know of it, I would be ever so happy._

His hand covered his mouth as tears began to slip to the brim of his eyes.

_Until the day comes where you and I can finally be together, no matter how long it takes, I promise that I will be waiting for you, Adam. You are the prince who saved me from the terrible world I only ever knew, and I look forward to the future of being by your side with you._

_Please don't lose hope. I know things have been tough so far, but I know you will find the answer. You always do. I believe in you, my Adam, I believe that you will overcome whatever tries to get in your way._

_Here's to the hopes of our future, and the hopes of my second kiss._

_Sincerely with all my love,_

_Your Snow White._

_Xoxo_

Off to the write where she had signed her name, there was a small red imprint where she had kissed the page.

"Oh, Snow white. . ." He finally released the breath he had been holding and allowed his lips to touch the imprint. His heart ached, but it was not as painful as it was before. He pressed the book to his chest and hugged it tightly. He felt as though he could hold onto a little bit of hope.

He would wake her up, he had to.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story!

Please don't be too mad with me for leaving it off at this particular cliff hanger. I promise I'm in the process of writing the next chapter as we speak. You'll just have to wait a week for it.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think.

Thanks for coming along the journey with me! Stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter.


	47. Chaptsr 47

Chapter Forty-Seven

GRIMHILDE

The ride from the castle through the Dark Forest was much less challenging than what she had anticipated, but she did not complain, but she hated the quiet. The quiet caused her to get lost in her thoughts and every now and again she would rethink this whole thing. She could not help but wonder if even getting her magic back was a good enough reason to really put Snow White to sleep for all eternity. She hated the girl, she had everything she never had – A stable home, a loving father, a prince to come save her, and a heart filled to the brim with an unearthly kindness.

She looked down at her hands and wondered how much of this really was worth. Driving her out of the kingdom, driving her lover out of the kingdom, killing so many . . . What was it all for again? Her youth? Her beauty? Why did any of that matter?

What was it all for?

She wasn't sure if it was her sudden old age that caused such philosophical ideas or if the suffocating years of regret were catching up to her. Once upon a time she would have had selfish reasons to have justified her actions, but now as they got closer and closer to the lake and the end of the ride, she felt as though a heavily veil had been removed from her and she was seeing things much clearer.

The gondola stopped in the shallow waters and she hobbled out. Grünes assisted her on the uneven shore, but she swatted him away and continued on her own.

"I want you to stay here, Grünes." She croaked. "Once I am young again, we will need to get out of here quickly, so stay here until I return."

He snorted unhappily in a failed attempt of an argument, not that she would spare him the time to actually argue with her. She just began her long and tiresome walk through the woods. It wasn't until she was very deep in the woods that she remembered she needed Grünes as her guide to get to the blasted cottages. She groaned at her foolish mistake but kept moving forward and looking to the sky. It was very cold out this early in the morning and she kept looking to the sky for possible signs of smoke.

Smoke meant cottages; cottages meant that Snow White was there.

She had no idea what to do with Adam should he still be there, but hopefully he would not be able to recognize her, and she could continue with her plan.

She walked and walked and walked and cursed the mountain for being so high and long and had to rest on a rock because her old age made her weaker and weaker by the second. Ever since breaking the Magic Mirror and burning the Grimoire she felt lighter and a little stronger, but she walked as though a heavy chain were attached to her ankle. Every now and again she would look behind her to make sure no such chain existed. She knew that if one did show up it would be both very long and very heavy for her years of the Dark Arts.

Sitting on her rock, her green eyes looked to the skies again and could see the faintest sign of smoke along with the rising sun. A smirk came to her face and she had to resist the urge to cackle. Struggling to her feet, she hobbled off again and clutched her basket of apples tightly. The trees eventually became thinner and thinner as she came to the wide opening where two cottages sat. A small squat one on the left and a tall square one on the right. Both chimneys had smoke rising from them, and she could hear Snow White's singing in the distance. She lingered in the protection of the trees to wait and see if any of the others were there. She only heard Snow White's singing and never saw anyone else leaving or going into the house. She stood there for only a few more moments before deciding she needed to make her move. She hobbled over to the window and could see Snow White preparing a meal and basket.

"Such beautiful singing." She hated how crackly her voice was when she spoke. It had only gotten worse as the days have passed in her changing age.

"H-Hello?" Snow White called over her shoulder.

"Hello?" She couldn't resist a chuckle as she could see that Snow White was rather alarmed by her appearance. "My, my, aren't you a pretty little pet."

She gasped as she did a double take and tried to quickly hide it behind a smile.

"Oh, h-hello." She wiped her hands on a tea towel. "W-What are you doing out here?"

"I'm just an old woman out on a stroll." She laughed. This was too rich! She was vulnerable and right in her clutches. "I won't have very many chances to exercise come winter, so I have to get out and walk when I can."

"You live around here?" She approached the window and Grimhilde could feel herself getting excited. She had to resist the urge of grabbing hold of her and stuffing the apple in her mouth and making sure she choked on it.

"Ah, yes." She nodded her head. "I live higher up the mountain next to a great knotted oak tree."

"My, that is quite far." Snow White blinked in surprise and was becoming relaxed. Yes, just what she wanted!

"I've never seen you before, my pet." The woman noted, trying to be as sweet and grandmotherly as possible. "I know the Dwarves live here, but I've never seen you before."

"Ah, my husband and I are living here with my uncles. . ." She wasn't sure why she was telling this woman this.

"I didn't know the Dwarves had a niece!" She gasped. Husband? Were she and Adam truly wed? Or was she being smart and using that as a proper shield in case she thought of her as suspicious?

"You're too pretty to be related to them."

"Ah, I'm from out of town." She gulped and began to look nervous. So it was a shield to keep her safe. "You see, we're on our honeymoon, you see. . ."

"Ah, good times." The woman winked with a cackle. Oh, how easy it was to see that the poor girl was lying. No doubt she had feelings for the traitor since she was blushing from head to toe. "Might I come in and have a sip of water, my pet? My joints are hurting at the moment and I could use a break."

"O-Of course." Snow White smiled and went to the door. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter.

"Ah, thank you, my pet." The woman smiled and patted her hand as Snow White assisted her to a chair. She had noticed that Snow White had put on a decent amount of weight, started to look healthier. Grimhilde could not help but think of it as a blessing since it meant this would more than likely give her even more magic back.

"Y-You're welcome." Snow White stammered as she took a step back. "Let me go get you that water."

She scurried to the kitchen and quickly grabbed a cup and went to the sink and pumped the water into the cup. The woman sat quietly, examining the Dwarves' cottage, it was very ornate and beautiful, she momentarily felt bad for not properly employing them before now. She heard the soft pitter patter of feet and smiled as Snow White came around the corner with a wooden cup of water.

"Ah, thank you." She took the water and took several gulps before leaning on her cane. In all honesty she was very happy to drink the water, she was much more parched than she had realized.

"All alone, my pet?" She asked carefully. Though it would appear that she was alone, there was always a chance that someone had stayed behind.

"Why yes I am." She admitted, a hand going to her chest.

"No men to take care of the pretty girl?" The woman blinked her eyes in surprise.

"No, they're not." She shook her head. "T-They're out working right now. But they'll be back for lunch soon."

She sniffed the air, she could smell black forest ham in the air, then chuckled. "Making lunch for them now, are we?"

"Why yes." She nodded her head with a furrowed brow. "M-My husband and uncles will be coming back soon."

She needed to act quick. They would be here sooner than Grimhilde would prefer.

"I imagine your food must taste really good." Grimhilde pointed a long boney finger at her. "Would you like something to add to your special lunch?"

"W-What's that?" She swallowed and smiled politely.

"Apples." Grimhilde showed her basket of apples.

"Apples." Snow White loved apples, and Grimhilde was truly betting on Snow White wanting one; a very specific one.

"I grew them myself." This moment was too grand, and she was full of pride that she was able to come this far by her own hands.

"M-My, they do look delicious." Snow White drew a little closer.

"Yes." She picked up the red one on top and held it out to Snow White. "But wait 'til you taste it! It'll be the best thing you ever tasted!"

She let out a chuckle and could see how tempted Snow White was. Her eyes were focused in on the apple and for a split second her mouth watered. Yes, it was all going according to plan!

"Would you like to try one?" She crooned, practically holding the apple out for her to take.

"Oh, but I m-mustn't." She shook her head and smiled politely. "I would hate to ruin my appetite for lunch!"

"Oh, go on." She would tempt her into eating this apple or so help her she would shove it down her throat. "Just have a bite, just one bite and you'll see how delicious it tastes."

She practically shoved the apple into Snow White's hands and quickly folded her hands around her cup so Snow White could not give it back to her.

"T-Thank you." Snow White's smile looked strained, however her eyes glittered in anticipation. "I'll share it with my husband later."

"No!" Grimhilde stood up suddenly. That could ruin everything! Only Snow White, the fairest of them all, was supposed to eat the apple. "No, you must eat it now!"

"W-Why?" Snow White retreated a step.

"You see," She had to think quickly. "My apples are magical."

She prayed that Snow White was gullible enough to accept this idea and not think too much on it.

"Magical?" She blinked. "You're a witch?"

"A good witch, mind you, my pet." She chuckled at fact she so easily accepted the idea and patted her cheek. "This apple is a wishing apple."

"A w-wishing apple?" Snow White questioned as she carefully moved her face away from the hand.

"Yes." Grimhilde nodded her head. "Just one bite will grant your deepest wish and make it come true!"

"Really?" Snow White looked down at the red apple.

"Yes, my pet." She soothed encouragingly. "My red apples work the best. All you have to do is make a wish then take a bite."

Snow White merely continued to look at the apple, as if debating on the truth of this situation as well as the story Grimhilde had just told her. There was no telling was going on through her mind and Grimhilde's heart started to pound as her nerves were catching up with her age.

"Come on, sweetheart." The woman tutted and tried to distract her from her thoughts. "Surely there must be something your heart desires." She knew exactly for who Snow White's heart desired. . . "Perhaps it is for someone you love if it is a wish that is not for yourself."

"I m-mean I do. . ." She stammered. "And I want this wish to come true. I very very much want this wish to come true. . . but can this apple really make it happen?"

"But of course!" Grimhilde couldn't hide her excitement. "Now take the apple, my pet, and make a wish and make sure you take a big bite."

She took a step back from Snow White and watched in waiting to see what Snow White would do. Her tiny hands gripped the apple, her fingernails slightly digging into the skin as if she needed to gather the courage to bite into the apple.

Come on, just one bite. . .

That's all it will take is just one bite. . .

Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched Snow White bring the red apple closer to her lips. She had a wish to make, Grimhilde could see it plain as day on her face as her mind still argued with her on whether or not to eat it.

"I-I. . ." Her hands shook as the apple inched closer to her mouth.

"Go on, pet." Grimhilde took another step back so as not to force the apple into the girl's mouth.

"I wish. . ." She pursed her lips. "I wish that Adam's curse of poison would be removed from his body, so that we can finally be together."

Taking a deep breath, she watched Snow White open her mouth and took the biggest bite she could. The loud crunch that echoed in the air was music to her ears, and almost immediately she could feel something she had lost return to her.

"Good girl." The woman chuckled at her victory. She had to be careful or she would get too giddy. "Now, when you wake up, everything will be set right and will just as it should have been."

"When I . . ." She blinked out of focus and swayed a little where she stood. "When I wake up?"

The apple fall from her hands and Snow White's legs began to buckle under her. She had to hold onto the wall with one hand and her head in the other. Grimhilde had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from cackling.

"If you ever wake up, you foolish girl!" The excitement in her just bubbled up along with a slow returning youth as she looked at the girl slipping into a deep sleep. She tried to hold herself up by the wall, but her knees just couldn't seem to hold her up.

"Adam. . ." She called as her knees hit the floor. "Adam."

"He won't be saving you now, brat." Her voice went from cackling crackle to smooth honey. "I've already made sure of that."

In a matter of second she slipped into a deep sleep and Grimhilde couldn't withhold her laughter anymore.

"Finally!" She ran her hands through her hair as the white tips began to grow out and she could see the rich black returning and her hands lost their warts and wrinkles and became supple and smooth. "I've finally done it!"

Her hands went to her shoulders and she hugged herself as she continued to slowly regain her youth. Finally getting some control of herself she looked down at Snow White. Even in sleep she was still very beautiful. Her nose turned up as she frowned and she could not help but glare at the girl. If she wasn't the reason so much of her youth was coming back, she would just slit her throat as she lay there on the floor.

"You should be glad you still get to live." She spoke quietly to Snow White. "At least you get to dream, and despite how much I despise you, Snow White, I hope they are sweet and happy for you so long as I continue to get young."

Suddenly, a gasp hiccupped from behind her, and Grimhilde turned to see a baldheaded Dwarf staring wide-eyed at the sleeping Snow White. His blue eyes slowly turned to her and he began to move his hands, either to communicate to her or to cast a spell; not that she bothered to figure out if it were either. With a grimace she flung herself to the door and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. With each step she just seemed to get younger and younger, a smile came to her face and she couldn't help but enjoy the thrill of it. Even as the Dwarf began to scream unintelligible sounds, she just pushed her new young and less creaky body as fast as it could go to get away.

With her black cloak around her she blended in greatly with the Dark Forest and she, for once, enjoyed the way the mucky earth felt underneath her feet. She laughed gleefully until it felt as though a dagger had pierced her stomach. With a gasp her feet stopped, and she fell to the earth clutching her stomach. Gritting teeth and trying to keep from screaming as the worst burning feeling of her stomach swelling and wanting to explode coursed through her.

Gasping like a fish for air her green eyes turned to the sky as she held her stomach. Her stomach twisted and she could hardly move to sit up and turn to vomit black and purple and liquids from her body. The goop seemed to move, almost trying to return to her but also trying to find a new host to be apart of.

"What the-?" She continued to expel the goopy and thick purple and black liquid until the pain receded from her stomach and now her body felt as though it were on fire.

"What. . . is happening. . . to me?" Her heart pounded in her chest and her nails raked over her skin as she let out a terrible scream. She would rather be burned to death or even just be killed than feel what she was feeling. Like a terrible fever she burned, then she froze, then she burned again just to freeze again.

Her breathing was ragged and shallow and she just writhed between stretching out and balling up as the burning cold scorched her and caused her to convulse. Just as suddenly as it came, it left and all the air that had escaped her lungs came flooding back to her to the point the vomited up more black goop, which she wanted it to be the last of it.

Hands on the earth holding herself up, she panted and tried to regain her breath. She scooted away from the moving black goop and rested against a tree.

"What . . . the hell . . ." She panted as she watched the goop be absorbed into the earth. It riled and squirmed and almost seemed to scream as it was absorbed into the earth. "Was that?"

Wiping her mouth and forcing herself to spit to clean out her mouth, she pulled out her compact and looked at her reflection. Much of her youth had been returned to her, but now her mouth looked terribly bruised from the black and purple vomit. She furiously tried to wipe her mouth clean of the terrible substance that tasted faintly of poison and apples.

"Mirror." She called as she continued to try to clean her mouth. "Magic Mirror, I summon thee to me!"

However, there was silence. Not even a glint or glimmer that her summon had been acknowledged.

"Mirror." She called a little more firm. "I, Queen Grimhilde summon thee!"

Still no response. As her temperature finally regulated itself, her heart slowed and she felt unnervingly cold as she stared at the mirror in her hands.

"Mirror?" She asked nicer. "Mirror, are you there?"

Her eyes burned and her nose began to sniffle at the silence.

"I demand that you show yourself!" She pounded her fist on the ground and continued to glare at the mirror in her hands. However, there was still no response. Her hands gripped the reflective glass in her hands as hot angry tears fell from her eyes.

"So, you betrayed me too, in the end?" The cold metal of the compact seemed to make her numb. Her hand fell into her lap and her head fell back against the tree. She definitely felt younger, but it was almost as if she had completely stopped gaining whatever she had lost and she was stuck with whatever she had left.

Her skin was smooth and supple again, but she still felt as though she was missing something. . .

As she stared at her hands and her body, making sure everything was as it was supposed to be, the rushing of shuffling of leaves and snapping of twigs caught her attention. She sat up and with the compact in her hand as the only means of a weapon, she readied it to throw it.

Climbing the hill was a familiar head of brown hair and lovely bottle green eyes that looked desperate in search of something. He stood there panting as those bottle green eyes locked with her pale green eyes. Covered in some sort of black substance, Frederick stood on the slope of a hill looking up at her. Her heart practically sang at seeing him again, but she couldn't stop herself from shaking her head.

"No . . ." She whispered in mortification and pressed herself against the tree.

"Hilde." He was ready to run towards her, but she couldn't allow herself to think that happily. She shut her eyes tight.

"Go away!" She threw the mirror and tried to hide herself in her cloak. She desperately tried to think of a teleportation spell, or anything that could make her disappear. "You're not supposed to be in Apfel!"

"I'm not." He said simply. His voice was so calm and steady and it made her heart all aflutter.

"I banished you." She pulled her cloak over her head and covered her head with her hand. "You betrayed me!"

"Never once." He sounded as though he had gotten closer.

"You aren't supposed to be here. . ." She could feel her resistance growing weaker.

"Yes I am." He was too close.

"No." She shook her head.

"Hilde." His voice was too gentle. "Hilde, please let me see you. . ."

"No." She could feel terribly selfish and joyous tears leaking from her eyes. "I . . .I don't deserve to see you. . ."

"Well, I deserve to see you." He placed a hand on her head and she could feel his thumb hooking under her hood.

"No!" She tried to hold onto her hood, but Frederick was much stronger than her and pulled it from her head just as gentle as his voice. Those green eyes were staring into her eyes, her mind, her heart, her soul; she loved it; she hated it. She tried to push him away, but he merely grabbed her wrists in one hand and his other hand traced her face.

"Hilde." He had the sweetest smile that made her go stiff and melt under her touch.

"S-Stop." She shook her head, but she couldn't look away from him.

"My Hilde. . ." He had such a boyish look on his face as he pulled her head towards him and wrapped her up in the biggest hug. She froze entirely and just allowed him to hug her, pressing her as closely to him as humanly possible, enjoying his natural warmth as he did so.

She wanted to enjoy it more, but she knew she couldn't. She had pushed and pushed him out of her life, failing every time albeit, but he didn't deserve to have her in his life. She caused too much trouble, she had caused him too much trouble, and she didn't want to cause him so much trouble. She couldn't melt, she had to be cold, hard even.

"What are you doing?" She finally found her voice.

"Hugging you." He seemed to lock his arms around her, as if sensing she was trying to push him away again.

"Why?" She asked simply.

"Because I've missed you." He kept his hand on her head and wouldn't allow her to move.

"It's only been a few months." She contradicted.

"No." He pulled back and held her head in his hands. "No, Hilde, it's been years, since I've seen My Hilde."

"W-What. . ." She gently shook her head and tried to look anywhere but at him but found she simply couldn't.

"Ever since we came to Apfel – no, ever since you found that terrible Grimoire." His voice was deep as he spoke. "You have never been the same. You were hidden in these terrible layers of just pure. . . darkness. You became the Evil Queen."

"I had to." She half-heartedly glared at him.

"No, you never had to." He shook his head at her. "You chose to do that."

"There was no one that could help me." She tried to pry his hands away from her head, but he only held her firmer, still gently, but wouldn't allow her to move.

"No, you just wouldn't let me help you." His voice cracked and she could see a few tears in his eyes.

"There's no point if I can do it myself." She frowned, and he only smiled softly at her. She just couldn't handle the kindness he was showing her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head down, not wanting to see his sweet face anymore.

He should be livid with her for everything she put him through.

He should hate her for banishing him.

He should be trying to kill her for everything she had him do for her.

Yet he sat with her, bestowing upon he the gentlest and most loving touch she has truly experienced in months.

"You. . ." She felt a knot in her throat. "You should go."

"Why?"

"Grünes will be here any minute." She tried to come up with something that would potentially change his mind and make him leave.

"No, he won't." He shook his head with a knowing look and a sad smile.

"You don't know that!" She tried to push herself away from him again.

"But . . . I do." He grimaced almost as his hands slid down to her shoulders. "Adam has more than likely finished him off by now. I know because of the black bile that you've vomited and. . . and because the Mirror told me. . ."

"That's impossible. . ." She shook her head with exasperated breaths. "No, I couldn't conjure him up, that meant you couldn't – "

"Have you forgotten about our blood oath and bond already?" He asked sadly. She only stared at him with wide green eyes.

"I broke it!"

"You cut a few strings in my heart, yes." He snorted at her. "But you alone did not break the blood oath, Hilde. That would have killed you if it had."

"You spoke to the Mirror?" It was such a struggle for her to comprehend this situation. She was so sure she had broken the oath. . . It had nearly broken her heart to banish him!

"Yes, Hilde, I spoke with the Mirror." He nodded with a sigh. His hands slid down to her elbows. She could only sit and wait for him to tell her whatever it was that he wished to tell her. "Ever since we came to Apfel, Hilde, all those years ago, the Mirror and I have been trying to get you to break ties with the Grimoire and the Dark Arts."

"No. . ." She shook her head in disbelief. "No, you couldn't have. The Mirror was mine –"

"Yours since you created his Mirror, but since you and I shared an oath I could converse with him freely." She clenched her jaw as she listened. "Even the Mirror you did not truly have the heart to bear the evils of the Dark Arts, nor the true strength to do so."

"Lies!" Her eyes burned with tears of such deep and long-lost emotions that it frightened her.

"No, Hilde." His hands cupped her face and soothed the fears that were rising within her. "I became your sword to try to take some of the burden from you, and in turn the Mirror played his cards of sucking you in deeper into Darkness."

"Then how were you working together?" Her brow furrowed.

"On one of those journeys you forced me to go on, to force me to leave, I assume." He explained. "I came across a man who the Mirror claimed to be acquaintances with. Called himself Mr. V and in a round about way told me that the Mirror had told him my troubles and woes and that I wanted my Hilde back. So he and I struck a deal."

"You what?"

"For finding a way of breaking you from the Darkness you tried to bind yourself with, he offered me what he called an interference piece for our story." His own brow furrowed as he explained. "So he sent Adam –"

"Adam?" She could feel how deeply wrinkled her brow was.

"Yes." Frederick nodded his head. "He sent Adam here for his own tests of sorts, and he was the interference piece to prevent you from killing Snow White."

"But I did." She shook her head in argument. "She bit my poisoned apple!"

"Which only put her in a deep sleep." Frederick pointed out and so much realization was hitting her at once. "And her sleep can be broken by a true love's first kiss."

"But Adam can't kiss her!"

"You don't know that." Frederick smirked and angry tears fell from her face.

"So, then I'll lose my youth?" She sniffled, her hands covering her nose.

"Is that what you're really worried about?" He frowned at her.

"No. . ." She shook her head. "But you would see me as an old woman –"

"In time yes, but not any time soon, Hilde." His thumbs wiped away her tears from her eyes. "I do hope to grow old together with you."

The sentiment was sweet, and in time she would acknowledge that sweet piece of good news, but where her heart was happy and free, her mind was a terrible mess trying to sort all of this out. Nothing was making sense!

"But I used all of my magic to create the apple. . . " She was trying to reason all of this. "A-A-And the Mirror said that I would get my powers back!"

"That was a rouse to get you to finish using up the darkness." Frederick's green eyes stared deeply into Hilde's to show that he was being completely serious. "You used the rest of your Dark Magic to create the apple yes, but it was part of the way to convince you to burn the Grimoire and destroy the Mirror."

"Why?" Her shoulders fell and she felt as though so much had been taken from her.

"Because the only way to rid you of the Dark Arts was to have you, who started in it, finish it." He bit his lip in frustration. "That was what Mr. v had explained to me, and though the Mirror and I tried countless times before to convince you, you just allowed whatever Darkness within you to prevent yourself from listening to either of us; especially me. You turned cold to me, Hilde –. "

Suddenly another cry echoed throughout the forest and Frederick grimaced. His hands went to hers and he stood and helped pull herself to her feet.

"We've spent too much time here." He sighed. "Come on, Hilde, we've got to get going. I can explain on the way - "

"Go?" She blinked away her tears. "Go where?"

"A lot has happened these past few months." He smirked at her and squeezed her hands. "I've become a blacksmith and have my marks for the trade and I've already set plans for the next city over. I can't give you the life of a Queen that you once had, but I can give you a life of happiness that you've nearly forgotten."

She could only stare up at him in awe. What truly possessed this man to love her? A horrible and intolerable woman that truly deserved nothing more than misery and death. She numbly allowed him to lead her by the hand and could not help but wonder how he could even want to help her let alone plan a future with her?

Frederick knew his way around the area very well and had them at the base of a mountain at a pass where a horse was tied to a tree branch waiting patiently. It was loaded down with a small covered wagon that looked like a pleasantly small living space for two. As soon as they were at the horse, he in a single motion he picked her up by her waist and set her the seat. He untied the reins and slid into the seat beside her and gave a gentle flick to the reins.

"Why are you doing this?" She finally whispered as her green eyes stared at the side of his face.

"Because I'm saving you." He kept his gaze straight ahead. "I'm very late in doing so, but I'm saving you now."

"How?" Her voice wobbled, her hands bunched into fists in her lap, and tears brimmed in her eyes. "I was terrible to you! You should be sending me off to Adam now so he can plunge his sword into me."

"I know you were terrible to me." He acknowledged and still didn't look at her. "I am far from blind to that. I know of the sins you've committed, and the ones I committed for you. And though you and I will both be suffering the consequences of our actions one day, I'd prefer it not to be today." Those bottle green eyes finally glanced down at her. "Besides, whatever you think, I'm still your knight, and I intend to protect my queen. If I were to let Adam kill you now, I would never forgive myself and would live in a world of hate. . . And despite what you may or may not believe, I've already forgiven you."

"How?" She demanded with a terrible crying face. "What I've done has been unforgiveable!"

"I know." He nodded his head in agreement. "Call me a fool if you want, but my love for you is strong enough to carry us both through the harsh storms we're bound to suffer from. I can forgive you because I know that you'll never forgive yourself."

"You're a fool . . ."

Her hand covered her mouth to try to stifle the terrible sniffling as tears would not stop flowing from her eyes. His arm slid around her shoulders and pulled her close and for once, Hilde did not reject him.

* * *

FREDERICK

For the last few months, through burning fires, painful flecks of metal, and grinding of muscles as his body learned the burdening tasks of being a blacksmith. It wasn't the worst thing he had ever learned how to do, however, the heat was miserable and the work could be grueling. His shoulders had broadened, his muscles had only swollen from all the heavy lifting of the hammer and the constant tension his body had to have as he pounded away at the metals. As he climbed the mountain, guiding his horse through the crooked paths, for the umpteenth time, his body was more than ready for the trek. His mind whirled as he climbed.

There were so many people in the kingdom of Apfel that were out of work that many were turning to the farms and other trades and the city was much more populated that he had realized. Between his branch as well as the original blacksmith's branch there were enough apprentices to start branches in all of the corners of the kingdom. Frederick had already planned on moving off to the next country to start his own branch, and the surplus of people looking for work only further encouraged him to do so. However, there were a few things, a few people, that were still holding him here in Apfel.

Although he was still banished from Apfel, Frederick did his usual rounds in securing the kingdom on top of his blacksmith duties, just to see what the Queen was up to. The fact that the castle has been quiet for so long has been driving him crazy. He's snuck into the castle several times and it reminded him of what his old country used to look like after the plague hit. . .

For whatever foolish reason, despite the conversations he's had with both the Mirror and Adam he simply could not bring himself to leave Hilde to the pack of wolves that were waiting to devour her. Perhaps it was the blood oath, or perhaps he was just the ridiculous fool in love; he would leave it up to fate as of this point. But if he was going to have it his way, he would still save the only woman he has even truly loved.

Even during these months apart, no, these years apart, he had tried to see a few women, but there was no shine to them, nothing truly eye-catching to him. They were definitely attractive women, but no matter how many times he tried to put it off in his head he just couldn't forget about Hilde, his Hilde. Her name was Grimhilde, and how she's been the past few years she had definitely been a grim woman, but he somehow had managed to see past the darkness she had allowed to cover her and see her for her. She was definitely blinded by the power she had possessed, and her conscience had drastically changed, but he still somehow saw the beautiful girl he knew as a young lad and there was nothing he could to change that image of her. He had hoped and prayed he would move on and find another, but no matter who he saw, what he tried, nothing changed for him. His silly little heart belonged to Hilde.

The Mirror had tried to tempt him more than once with images of women throughout the village, but his heart simply would not fall for another. Even this morning when the Mirror woke him up telling him today would be the day to escape, he kept telling him to just leave and not go to the mountain.

"You're terribly stubborn, you know?" The Mirror complained in the breast pocket of his leather vest.

"I like to think of it as loyal." Frederick snorted as he pulled the compact mirror from its pocket.

"No, you're incredibly and stupidly stubborn." The Mirror rolled his eye sockets. "Holding out for this woman will only have devastation for you to make up for the years of darkness she lived in."

"I'm aware." Frederick only smiled in response. "I'm much more prepared than you think."

"No, you just don't know how unaware of it you are." The mirror argued. "Not that it matters, I know you're going to go to her as soon as it happens."

"At least you know that."

"I've told you the practical and wise decision for months now, but you simply refuse to listen to logic and choose the path of love." He practically gagged at the word love. "I shall never understand you humans."

"Probably a good thing." Frederick noted. "You'd go insane trying to understand us."

"I'm aware." He droned. "You'll want to stop in this area."

On either side of him there was nothing but rocks and trees reaching for the sky and they were relatively protected from any thieves that could possibly be lurking in the forest.

"Nothing will happen to the wagon while you're here." The Mirror explained.

Frederick took the reins of the horse and tied them carefully on sturdy low hanging branches.

"That way the beast can rest while you go get her." The Mirror sighed. "She'll more than likely be young again and will be an emotional baggage burden for you."

"Young again?" His brow furrowed.

"Right, you haven't seen the old hag she's been this summer." The Mirror chuckled. "I should have shown you that, that definitely would have turned your love away from her."

"Mirror."

"Right." He sounded disappointed. "Well, I'll explain this once because as soon as I finish explaining things to you, I will disappear from this Realm, so listen carefully."

There was a tiny cracking sound Frederick could hear. He turned to the horse to see if it had moved, but it stood still.

"What?" Frederick blinked. It should be music to his ears, and though their relationship of retaining information was odd and useful, he was somewhat downtrodden that the Mirror would just disappear.

"As soon as Adam has killed her failure of perfection and Snow White has taken a bite of the cursed apple, terrible things are going to happen to her." The Mirror explained without missing a beat. "Once Snow White has taken a bite of the apple and has fallen asleep, The Queen will start to regain her youth and shed away her hideous appearance."

Frederick noticed that the cracking sound was getting louder and that obvious cracks were appearing on the face of the compact mirror.

"She will regain the smallest fraction of magic power to continue to reverse her age." The Mirror didn't acknowledge it and just continued to speak. "However, as soon as her abominable creature has been destroyed, the creature will take half of the years of punishment she is supposed to suffer and whatever lifespan she was supposed to have will be returned to her. The coast of her life is the loss of her magic ability. The only magic that will last will be your blood oath the two of you shared so many years ago because that resides in you."

"In me?" He blinked.

"Yes." The Mirror didn't blink as his face was becoming distorted through all the breaks in the glass. "Once her magic has been sapped away from her and the creature returns to the earth she will wallow in immense pain and could be disoriented. She'll be weak and if you want to take her while she's quiet it would be the most opportune moment because knowing her, she'll try to push you away again."

"She won't have a choice." Frederick confirmed.

"Good, stay strong." The Mirror nodded approvingly. "As soon as you get her, do not waste time and get her as far away from here as possible. Depending on Adam's condition, especially if he was successful in the transfer spell –"

"Transfer spell?"

"To rid his body of the poisons." The Mirror summarized irritably. "Do not concern yourself with the boy. Your mission will be to get Grimhilde out of the country because if Adam is in a fury, he will seek her out to destroy her. If you do not take her away from here as soon as you see her, I have no idea what future will hold for you."

Frederick nodded his head in understanding and the Mirror's face was slowly dissipating from the screen.

"She'll probably be furious that I won't be showing up." The Mirror chuckled. "I'm proud she was able to overcome this, even if we did have to trick her. Take care of her, Frederick. Though I don't like you nor understand you, I do hope you find happiness and I think I can say that I'm glad that I befriended you."

For the one and only time in the entire existence of the Mirror, Frederick saw him genuinely and sincerely smile at him as the glass continued to crack.

"Now, go, save your queen."

With that as his final words, the mirror shattered and a nasty black smoke came from it the now empty sockets. Closing the compact mirror, Frederick slipped it back into its pocket and held it there. For a few moments Frederick wondered if they were friends in the ends. . .

A gargled scream echoed in the distance and Frederick held back a curse as he forced himself to run. He knew, even from here, where the Dwarves' cottages were, but he had no idea which direction Hilde would run to. The chill in the air bit at his lungs and his sweat clung to his body and kept him warm as he ran and ran and ran blindly through the forest. He stopped for only a moment to listen to any noises in the forest when the terrible sound of someone vomiting followed by a woman's screech went out in the air.

His entire being threw itself in the direction of the terrible noises, up, up, up the steep hill until he saw a beautiful head of black hair and bewitching green eyes. She was propped up against a tree, wiping her mouth furiously to remove it, but left a blackish purple blue residue that looked as though her mouth were terribly bruised. She looked just as beautiful as the day she banished him. He stood at the bottom of the steep hill and could see her, but she couldn't see him.

"Mirror." Her heard her call. "Magic Mirror, I summon thee to me!"

However, there was silence and Frederick held his breath. The Mirror had said this would happen, but he still had the smallest doubt that she would have succeeded to summon him. As she grew more and more frustrated though, he knew that her magic was gone. The only remnant of magic that remained with them was the blood bond, simply because that resided in him.

"So, you betrayed me too, in the end?" Her voice had gone weak, and he could almost hear fear in her voice and the tears brimming in her eyes. Not wasting a moment longer, Frederick climbed the hill, slow and steady so as not to alarm her and just like the day he had first met her when they were children, he stood entranced by her beauty. Though she sat with the compact in her hand as the only means of a weapon, ready to throw it if necessary, completely swallowed in a black cloak, he could see a feral look in those green eyes and he could only stare at her.

Though still cloaked in a black cloak, it was his Hilde that sat there staring at him. Her eyes were wide, almost fearing to blink in case he should disappear. There was such a hope, such a life in her eyes, but it was soon clouded by something deep within her.

"No . . ." Her voice was a mere whisper of mortification as she pressed herself against the tree, as if trying to run from him.

"Hilde." He was ready to run towards her, but he resisted so she wouldn't run from him. She closed her eyes tight and he took the chance to carefully approach.

"Go away!" She threw the mirror and tried to hide herself in her cloak. He paused for only a moment to pick up the compact mirror and slide it into the same breast pocket as the other.

"You're not supposed to be in Apfel!" She called from beneath her cloak.

"I'm not." He nodded as he approached her still.

"I banished you." She pulled her cloak tightly over her head. "You betrayed me!"

"Never once." He stood before her, his own heart pounding in his chest as he looked down at her.

"You aren't supposed to be here. . ." He could hear her resistance growing weaker.

"Yes I am." He squatted down beside her, entrapping her to her place in the tree.

"No." She shook her head.

"Hilde." His voice felt dry as he pleaded to see her. "Hilde, please let me see you. . ."

"No." She choked. "I . . .I don't deserve to see you. . ."

"Well, I deserve to see you." He gently placed a hand on her head and hooked his thumb under her hood.

"No!" She tried to hold onto her hood, but he pulled it free and could clearly see her face. Those green eyes were staring into his eyes, all of her emotions exposed. Joy, fear, love, hate, guilt, shame, but most of all a sad sort of relief. Her hands reached up roughly and tried to push him away, but he merely grabbed her wrists in one hand and his other hand traced her face. Her cheek fit perfectly in his hand again.

"Hilde." He could cry from happiness.

"S-Stop." She shook her head, tears threatening to form.

"My Hilde. . ." He pulled her head towards him and wrapped her up in the biggest hug. She froze entirely and just allowed him to hug her, pressing her as closely to him as humanly possible, enjoying the feel of having her in his arms again. He knew she was terrified and more than likely wanted nothing more than to run away from him, but he wouldn't let her run away ever again.

"What are you doing?" She asked ever so quietly as if scared he would actually hear her.

"Hugging you." He locked his arms around her so she wouldn't try to run away from him or push him away again.

"Why?" She asked simply.

"Because I've missed you." He kept his hand on her head and wouldn't allow her to move. He was almost scared that if he blinked she would change again.

"It's only been a few months." She tried to pick a fight and he couldn't resist the smile that formed on his face.

"No." He pulled back and held her head in his hands. "No, Hilde, it's been years, since I've seen My Hilde."

"W-What. . ." She gently shook her head and those beautiful green eyes brimmed with tears.

"Ever since we came to Apfel – no, ever since you found that terrible Grimoire." He hoped that his words reached her somehow. "You have never been the same. You were hidden in these terrible layers of just pure. . . darkness. You became the Evil Queen."

"I had to." She tried to glare at him.

"No, you never had to." He shook his head at her, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "You chose to do that."

Despite my arguments to you . . .

"There was no one that could help me." She tried to pry his hands away from her head, but he only held her firmer, still gently, but wouldn't allow her to move.

"No, you just wouldn't let me help you." His voice cracked and his eyes burned.

"There's no point if I can do it myself." She frowned weakly at him. "You. . .You should go."

"Why?" Not that he was going to now or ever in the future.

"Grünes will be here any minute."

"No, he won't." He shook his head.

"You don't know that!" She tried to push herself away from him again.

"But . . . I do." His hands slid down to her shoulders. "Adam has more than likely finished him off by now. I know because of the black bile that you've vomited and. . . and because the Mirror told me. . ."

"That's impossible. . ." She shook her head in disbelief. "No, I couldn't conjure him up, that meant you couldn't – "

"Have you forgotten about our blood oath and bond already?" He asked sadly.

"I broke it!" She stared at him with wide green eyes.

"You cut a few strings in my heart, yes." He admitted with a snort. "But you alone did not break the blood oath, Hilde. That would have killed you if it had."

"You spoke to the Mirror?" She repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, Hilde, I spoke with the Mirror." He nodded with a sigh and his hands slid down to her elbows. "Ever since we came to Apfel, Hilde, all those years ago, the Mirror and I have been trying to get you to break ties with the Grimoire and the Dark Arts."

"No. . ." She shook her head eyes reflecting hurt and disbelief. "No, you couldn't have. The Mirror was mine –"

"Yours since you created his Mirror, but since you and I shared an oath I could converse with him freely." He watched her clench her jaw. "Even the Mirror you did not truly have the heart to bear the evils of the Dark Arts, nor the true strength to do so."

"Lies!"

"No, Hilde." His hands cupped her face. "I became your sword to try to take some of the burden from you, and in turn the Mirror played his cards of sucking you in deeper into Darkness."

"Then how were you working together?" Her brow furrowed.

"On one of those journeys you forced me to go on, to force me to leave, I assume." He explained hating to remember these thoughts. "I came across a man who the Mirror claimed to be acquaintances with. Called himself Mr. V and in a round about way told me that the Mirror had told him my troubles and woes and that I wanted my Hilde back. So he and I struck a deal."

Funny thing was that he never saw this Mr. V since. . .

"You what?"

"For finding a way of breaking you from the Darkness you tried to bind yourself with, he offered me what he called an interference piece for our story." His own brow furrowed as he explained. "So, he sent Adam –"

"Adam?"

"Yes." Frederick nodded his head. "He sent Adam here for his own tests of sorts, and he was the interference piece to prevent you from killing Snow White."

"But I did." She shook her head in argument. "She bit my poisoned apple!"

"Which only put her in a deep sleep." Frederick pointed out. "And her sleep can be broken by a true love's first kiss."

"But Adam can't kiss her!" She argued.

"You don't know that." Frederick smirked knowing that Adam would be successful and watched the angry tears fell from her face.

"So, then I'll lose my youth?" She sniffled and her hands went to her face to cover her nose.

"Is that what you're really worried about?" He frowned at her. He expected so much more from her than that.

"No. . ." She shook her head. "But you would see me as an old woman –"

"In time yes, but not any time soon, Hilde." His thumbs wiped away her tears from her eyes. "I do hope to grow old together with you."

Those green eyes blinked and her low lip quivered as tears began to fall down her porcelain skin.

"But I used all of my magic to create the apple. . . " She was trying to reason all of this. "A-A-And the Mirror said that I would get my powers back!"

"That was a rouse to get you to finish using up the darkness." Frederick explained. "You used the rest of your Dark Magic to create the apple yes, but it was part of the way to convince you to burn the Grimoire and destroy the Mirror."

"Why?" Her shoulders fell.

"Because the only way to rid you of the Dark Arts was to have you, who started in it, finish it." He bit his lip in frustration. He would have done anything to have fixed this all sooner, to prevent so many terrible years of damage to them and everyone else around them.

"That was what Mr. V had explained to me, and though the Mirror and I tried countless times before to convince you, you just allowed whatever Darkness within you to prevent yourself from listening to either of us; especially me. You turned cold to me, Hilde –. "

Suddenly another cry echoed throughout the forest and Frederick grimaced. It was men screaming. Adam had finally made it back to the cottages and he would be ready for his hunt far too soon. Frederick grabbed her hand and helped pull herself to her feet.

"We've spent too much time here." He sighed, silently praying to escape the Dark Forest. "Come on, Hilde, we've got to get going. I can explain on the way - "

"Go?" She blinked away her tears. "Go where?"

"A lot has happened these past few months." He smirked at her and squeezed her hands and gently eased her into walking. "I've become a blacksmith and have my marks for the trade and I've already set plans for the next city over. I can't give you the life of a Queen that you once had, but I can give you a life of happiness that you've nearly forgotten."

Doing his best to remember the chaotic path he took to find Hilde, Frederick carefully guided Hilde down to the base of a mountain at a pass where a horse was tied to a tree branch waiting patiently. Frederick was glad that this horse had remained here and that nothing had happened in his absence. There was no telling what things would happen once the absence of Queen Grimhilde would arise.

As soon as they were at the horse, he picked her up by her waist and set her the seat; he was surprised that she didn't fight him and limply allowed him to do as he pleased. He untied the reins and slid into the seat beside her and gave a gentle flick to the reins.

"Why are you doing this?" She whispered as the horse started to walk.

"Because I'm saving you." He kept his gaze straight ahead. "I'm very late in doing so, but I'm saving you now."

"How?" Her voice wobbled. "I was terrible to you! You should be sending me off to Adam now so he can plunge his sword into me."

"I know you were terrible to me." He acknowledged but still didn't look at her. "I am far from blind to that. I know of the sins you've committed, and the ones I committed for you. And though you and I will both be suffering the consequences of our actions one day; I'd prefer it not to be today."

There was so much pain and anguish that they had sewn, and they would reap them in time. He felt terribly guilty to both Snow White and Adam. He hoped and prayed that the two of them would have a happy ending, they actually deserved one unlike the two escapees. Whatever nightmare awaited them they would have deserved, but all that mattered now was that he had his Hilde back and if they were to suffer, they would suffer together.

"Besides, whatever you think, I'm still your knight, and I intend to protect my queen." He looked down at her. "If I were to let Adam kill you now, I would never forgive myself and would live in a world of hate. . . And despite what you may or may not believe, I've already forgiven you."

"How?" She demanded with a terrible crying face. "What I've done has been unforgiveable!"

"I know." He nodded his head in agreement. "Call me a fool if you want, but my love for you is strong enough to carry us both through the harsh storms we're bound to suffer from. I can forgive you because I know that you'll never forgive yourself."

He hated that wording, but he knew that as she regained her conscience and realized just how badly she would burn for her terrible crimes, she would never forgive herself. He had enabled her far too many times and didn't stop her when he should have so he could forgive her because he could not forgive himself for allowing her to become the Evil Queen.

"You're a fool . . ." Those words just made him smile.

Her hand covered her mouth to try to stifle the terrible sniffling as tears would not stop flowing from her eyes. His arm slid around her shoulders and pulled her close and for once, Hilde did not reject him. He pressed his lips to her forehead, and she rested her head on his shoulder. His heart fluttered at the gesture and though he knew that the world ahead of them would be difficult, he wanted to savor this moment of small happiness of getting his Hilde back again.

He only hoped that Adam would forgive him, because no matter where he went or where he searched, he would never be able to find them. But if he had succeeded in truly ridding himself of the cursed poisons in his body, he would have no need to find them.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you've been enjoying the story!

So, I acknowledge and realize that this was a really long chapter. I also am aware that this is roughly the same bits just in different point of views, but no matter how many different ways I wrote this, the story demanded it. It just wanted Frederick and Hilde to see each other in their different perspectives.

This was also a rather conflicting chapter for me to write, simply because I wanted to find some sort of way of making Grimhilde suffer. And before you all really get mad or upset that they are getting a happy ending after everything that happened, I want to just say that the happy ending was for Frederick, not Hilde.

Hilde had done terrible things and she will in time, alongside Frederick, will suffer from it. The only way I could truly make her suffer, though, was to take away her magic as well as allow Frederick to forgive her. I had originally written this where Frederick finds her, tells her how much he loved her, and leaves her to suffer and bear the world alone; but that wasn't Frederick's personality at all. T^T

He's simply too good, and despite what many of you think, there are genuinely good people like this out in the world. They are anomalies, yes, but they do exist and truly deserve so much better than what they get. However, Frederick was able to regain the woman he truly loved, so any other ending just wouldn't have been happy for him.

Now that I have left a long note, please leave a review and tell me what you think.

Thanks so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter.


	48. Chapter 48

THE FINAL CHAPTER

Chapter Forty-Eight

ADAM

Two whole days had passed since Snow White had fallen into the deep sleep. She neither stirred nor awoke, despite both Adam and the Dwarves' best efforts. The Seven have been working tirelessly of creating a magical crystal covering for Snow White. No matter how he looks at it though, it is like a sealant for her coffin. It was almost finished, and they would be setting the parts in her room today before Adam set out on his journey.

Now that the threats were gone Adam hasn't left her side, and had the Dwarves not brought him sort of food throughout the day he would have more than likely become a statue from sitting in the chair for so long. It was silently killing Adam to not hurry off and go after the Evil Queen, oh how badly he wanted to. She had a few days of advancement, but if there was the slimmest chance that Snow White was going to wake up he didn't want to miss it for a stupid witch hunt. She was days gone and he had no idea where she could have gone. Even if he tried to track her, there has been frost on the ground as the temperature has dropped, and autumn had set its roots in. Still, he would track her down and get some sort of answer from her.

His bare hand held hers and he gently rubbed small circles on the top of her hand. He enjoyed the way her skin felt against his, it was so unfamiliar and enticing; he only wished she were awake so that they could enjoy it together. Ever since he had gotten rid of his toxins, he hadn't worn his gloves. He had also noticed that the Dwarves had no problem being around him as of late either; though that also could have been due to the concerning circumstances.

He pressed his forehead to her hand, and with eyes shut tight he prayed she would wake up.

Please, my love, just wake up. . .

Glancing at the still sleeping princess, he knew she would not wake up anytime soon. His heart ached and swelled in his chance and for a split moment he feared he was going to cry; again. With the loss of the poisons it seemed as though all the things he never knew about suddenly rushed to him.

He had never known what it meant to cry; it would have been used against him in his upbringing.

He had never known what it meant to have an aching heart; he thought it had shriveled up a long time ago.

He had never known what it meant to feel so desperate; he had always been strong and could get whatever he wanted, but he could do nothing to wake her up no matter how much he wanted her to awaken.

He studied her sweet slumbering face, the way her skin was all smooth and carefree of sweet dreams; the way her eyelashes rested on her apple blossom cheeks, the way her red lips that once tempted him were curved in the gentlest of smiles in her peaceful slumber. At any other chance before now he would have loved to have stolen a glance at her sleeping face, but now he just wanted to see those doe brown eyes full of life and light and love again.

Darling, please let me see your pretty eyes again. . .

He pressed her hand to his cheek, wishing for them to once again caress his cheek before resting it back on her stomach with the other. He sat and just watched the rise and fall of her chest just to make sure she still breathed.

A knock came from her door and he didn't even spare it a glance. He knew one of the Dwarves would be there. The door creaked open and there was silence to follow as the Dwarf just stood in the doorway.

"It's ready." It was Grumpy. "We're ready to case it over her whenever you're ready."

"And if I'm not?" His voice cracked; another thing he never knew before.

"We will wait." He sighed. "It's just going to drag this out longer though."

"I know. . ." He spoke quietly.

"It's going to take us a bit of time to do it anyways. . ." Grumpy explained calmly. "She has a four poster bed, so it's gonna take us putting all the pieces around her bed."

"Around?" Adam finally looked at Grumpy. He almost seemed to have aged greatly these past few days. He looked terribly haggard, as if he hadn't slept; knowing him he more than likely hadn't.

"Under, over, and all around the side." Grumpy spoke with a nod to the bed. "We're going to make it air tight, so nothing bad gets in, and she'll still be provided with nutrients and things she can get while sleeping."

Grumpy stared hard at Adam, arms crossed tightly over his small chest.

"It's still your call. . ."

"Better . . . better bring them in." His throat felt so dry, and his eyes were far too wet for his liking.

Grumpy merely knocked on the threshold and the other Six carrying the magical crystal pieces entered the room.

"You'll need to hold onto her." Grumpy instructed. "We're going to start with the under first."

Adam wordlessly went to Snow White and picked up her warm and limp body. He had hoped with him picking her up that she would stir, or move, or just something to signify waking up, but her head just rolled listlessly onto his shoulder, and her hand fell from her lap to her side. Holding her closely to his chest, he returned to his chair and made sure they were out of the way while the Seven worked about setting up the magical crystals in place.

In a wordless unison the Seven worked together by picking up the bed, sliding one of the crystal slabs under the bed. They even nailed it to the crystal; Adam's heart thudded with each hammering nail. He wanted to take her and run away with her, away from this place.

Then they proceeded to nail in the piece for the headboard, then the right side of the bed, then the foot of the bed, then the top of the four posters.

With the last piece remaining to be put on, the Seven very solemnly turned to Adam in expectancy. He clutched her tighter to his chest. His heart still hammered in his chest. He knew he had to move. But his body didn't want to move. He just sat starring, pleading, wishing, praying, anything that would make her open up her eyes so he didn't have to seal her in that horribly beautiful coffin.

Please wake up. . .

Please, please, please wake up.

I'll do anything, just please, wake up. . .

"Adam." Grumpy called gently.

Adam didn't reply.

He knew it was time, he was also just really far from being ready for it.

Very mechanically he stood. In two short steps he was there, and he almost fought his body as it didn't want to place her there, though he knew he had to. Slowly and gently, so as not to put a hair out of place, he ducked under the crystal lid and gently placed her on the bed. Her arms went over her stomach, her head rested daintily on the pillow; not a curl was out of place.

His arms felt empty. His heart was cold. His mind was numb. All he could do was look at her enchanting beauty.

"When are you leavin'?" Grumpy asked beside him.

"This afternoon." He clenched his hands into fists and quickly released them, just trying to get some sort of feeling back to him. "Sooner I find her, the better."

"She will wake up." Grumpy said affirmatively.

"I know." His eyes never left her sleeping form.

"Do you want to be here while we close her up?"

"Don't say it like that." He hissed in pain at those words.

"Need to stand outside?" Grumpy offered less sympathetically.

"No." He shook his head and clenched his fists. "I just need a minute. . ."

"Need a minute?" Grumpy blinked incredulously at him.

"With her." Adam finished. "I need to tell her goodbye."

"Us first then." Grumpy harrumphed and stood beside Adam and looked on at Snow White. The other Six soon lined up behind Grumpy, each taking off their hats as they waited.

"Listen here, Snow White." Grumpy said in a strange sweet but gruff way. "I know you're catchin' up on beauty sleep and you're having the best dreams possible, but the sooner you wake up the better."

"Grumpy!" Doc hissed.

"Too many people miss you." Grumpy ignored the hissing. "Especially you're prince here. If you don't wake up soon, there's no tellin' what stupid thing he'll do without you."

He bowed his head to her before shuffling outside the room, sniffling all the way.

"Dear, sweet princess." Doc gulped as he twisted his hat in his hands. "We all really do miss you, and we would love to not have to place you in a box, s-s-s-o the sooner you wake up the better."

He bowed his head and joined Grumpy outside the room while Happy and Sneezy stood together.

"N-Now princess.' Happy tried to speak cheerfully. "We all love and miss you here, a-and we hope you're having the best of sleeps."

"But it's really time for you to wake up." Sneezy sniffled. "It's not the same without you here."

They shuffled their way out and Sleepy now stood before Snow White.

"Now Princess." He yawned. "I know I'm Sleepy, and I sleep a lot, but even I must say it's time for you to wake up."

He reached his calloused hand up and patted Adam on the arm before joining the others. Dopey soon replaced Sleepy and stood sniffling and crying beside him. Adam knew that the poor Dwarf, despite what everyone told him, had blamed himself for what happened to Snow White. Adam too blamed himself for not being there when he should have and never once faulted Dopey for what had happened to Snow White.

Dopey's hand went to Adams and squeezed tightly. Adam cast a glance down at the teary-eyed Dwarf, there was nothing he could say or signal to the Dwarf to let him know that things were going to be okay; he wish he could. Dopey gently yanked on Adam's hand to get his attention and signed that he wanted to tell Snow White something. Adam nodded his head and Dopey pushed his sleeves up his arms to start signing. It was a little difficult to read since his hands were shaking, but Adam read as clearly and precisely as he could throuhg Dopey's stammering.

"Dear Snow White," Adam spoke softly and focused his eyes on Dopey's hands. "I'm so sorry for not being awake to protect you from the Evil Queen."

Adam gave him a warning look and Dopey merely shook his head at him. Even Adam had tried to tell him that it wasn't Dopey's fault but his own; he was just so ridiculously stubborn.

"I can't wake you up alone." Dopey continued. "So for now, my brothers and I will do everything we can to protect you and keep you safe until Adam comes back with the answer to wake you up."

Adam's heart clenched at that. He would go to the ends to the ends of the earth to bring back the answer, the cure to wake Snow White from this sleep.

"So stay safe in our magical crystal box, and we will do everything we can to wake you up." Dopey finished then bolted out of the room crying.

Once again, Adam was left alone with Snow White. He stared at her sleeping from and had no idea what to say. The Dwarves all had some sort of notion or something that had touched their hearts to try to encourage both Snow White, themselves, and Adam; though the burden only seemed to grow on Adam's shoulders. He carefully sat on the bed beside her and caressed her cheek in his hand.

"My darling, Snow White." He spoke softly so the others wouldn't hear. "I will be leaving this place and setting out on a journey . . . I don't know how long I'll be gone; and that terrifies me because I would never leave you side if I could help it. . ."

He paused to make sure that none of the others were listening before leaning over her, his nose just a few centimeters from hers.

"I read your note in my journal, my dear, Snow White." He spoke as he traced the frame of her face with his index finger. "I would never be mad or upset with you for leaving something so sweet and encouraging such as that. I wish I could do more for you to encourage you with such trustful promises."

His hand slid down to her chin as he trailed off. Those red lips that once tempted him deeply were still a beautiful rose red that was full in bloom and far from wilting away. His thumb grazed her lips, they were soft, as his mind wandered to her small request in her note to him. . .

Even if it were in my sleep . . .

He could almost hear her voice and the cute little giggle that would have come from the end of the comment. Her words echoed in his mind and his heart seemed to have found some sort of warmth. His heart longed to her awake again, and his mind dared a dangerous idea in his head. He could fulfill this request and tell her of it later; but he was still so unsure what would happen if all the toxins had not left his body. But what should happen to her if something were to happen to him and he were not able to make the journey back?

Autumn was already cold, and in the mountains, it already felt as though they were in the dead of winter. There was hardly a one percent chance that another prince would come across her and wake her up; there was a fifty percent chance that the Dwarves would come up with a solution while he was gone; but what if there is no solution found? His eyes burned and felt wet at that thought.

"I promise, my darling, my dear, Snow White, my one and only love." He spoke to her with all his heart. "I will awaken you.

He could feel his hand shake a little as he bent down, closer to her face, carefully looming over her. Ever so careful so as not to move her or possibly make her rock against the pillow, pressed his lips to hers. His heart swelled with the conflictions of happiness and the dread of never seeing her again. Her lips were soft, limp, but warm as though all she was doing were sleeping. When he pulled back and looked down at her face, he half expected her to be awake.

His heart squeezed in such pain when she still didn't stir. With great pain, he removed his hand from her cheek, removed himself from her bed, and moved himself to the end of the bed, where he only looked at her on the other side of the ever so clear crystal. He looked on her beautiful sleeping form, and after a few moments of silence, the Seven soon reentered the bedroom with the last pane of crystal. They ever so solemnly, though still sniffling, picked up the crystal. In one quiet fluid motion, they pressed it against the other panels. The Seven began to move around the bed, with Doc at the right of the post, with all the others linking together by hands and Grumpy on the left side of the post.

In a language unknown to Adam, the Seven began to sing in low harmonious tones. Adam listened to their song while keeping his eyes locked on Snow White. With one verse done, Doc held out a long note. Crackling from the crystal could be heard, and the floor shook under toe. Adam looked down and could see that the crystal floor of the box solidified and became one with the floor.

Happy next let out a long note in tune with Doc as the third verse continued and the crystal continued to crackle as it crawled up the walls. His heart began to pound in his ears and something within him told him they needed to stop, but he remained where he was as Snow White still had not stirred.

Sneezy then held his note out, then Dopey let out a tenor voice. The crystallization was over their heads already as Bashful held out his note.

Another verse was sung and Sleepy held out his note. The crystal crickled and crackled as it climbed the walls, cutting off the clear image of Snow White. Chills went down his back and up his arms as Grumpy sung the last verse of whatever Dwarven song they were singing. It was just as Grumpy sucked in his breath to hold out his note when Adam saw it.

Those doe brown eyes. Those doe brown eyes were blinking awake!

"Stop!" Adam called and Grumpy glared at Adam before turning his attention to Snow White as she stretched her arms over her head. The Seven released their hands and gasps erupted around the room. The crystal walls fell like shattering glass to the floor and Adam rushed to Snow White's side as she sat up.

"Snow White!" He pulled her into his arms and pressed her to his chest. "My love!"

"My goodness!" She chuckled with a yawn and a smile. Oh, that beautiful smile!

"Princess, you're awake!" The Dwarves each called out as more tears began to fall and sniffling began again.

"I had such a wonderful dream." She hummed with a smile as she went from looking at the Seven Dwarves to looking up at Adam.

"No dream is as wonderful as seeing you awake and alive." Adam could feel his eyes getting wet again as he caressed her cheek and pressed his forehead against hers.

"What?" Her tiny hands pressed against his and he loved the way her warm skin felt against his.

"You've been asleep for days, princess." Doc spoke with a smile. "W-We've all been trying to figure out what to do."

"We were even going to encase you in crystal and with a magical healing Dwarven spell." Happy wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Do you remember anything?" Adam asked as he pulled his head back just enough to peer into those lovely, beautiful doe brown eyes.

"I mean, I remember all of you." She giggled with a small shoulder shrug. "But, I do remember an old woman. . . and an apple. But anything else from that, I've just had the most wonderful dream. I dreamt that your curse had been lifted, a-a-and that we were able to be married and that we were back at the castle."

She giggled at this as though this were the silliest thing in the world. The thought of being married to the woman he loved, made his heart swell with laughter as he pressed his forehead to hers again before joining his lips with hers. Her giggling stopped, and when he pulled back, she had the prettiest blush all across her face with those doe brown eyes wide eyed in shock at him.

"Adam?" She blinked twice. "Did you just - ?"

"Yes." He kissed her forehead and she only blushed deeper as her hands covered her mouth.

"Does that mean - ?" He could see tears welling up in her eyes.

"Yes." He smiled at her, his own tears welling up in his own eyes. "My curse has been lifted."

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, and in turn his arms went around her and held her even tighter. The Seven all joined in for a big group hug as they could only celebrate the princess's awakening.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you have enjoyed the story so far!

AAAAHHHHHHHH, there was so much crying in this chapter for me. It took me so long to write. I hope that you have enjoyed the awakening of the princess. I tried to make it a little different with the crystal encasing and the Dwarven song.

For any curious about that, I decided to try to link the crystals with the Dwarves through a song because in the movie, they sing about mining the gems as they worked, so I decided to use the idea of singing as a form of their magic for harvesting the gems. It added a more significant touch to the Dwarves and connecting them to the story for me.

We're almost there! The end is near, and I hope that you've enjoyed this. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think!

Thanks for coming along the journey with me! Stay tuned for the last run!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter.


	49. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

ADAM

February 9

Oh, how many things can happen in a year. After awakening the beautiful princess, she was properly returned to her kingdom where she had much to repair and restore not only with the castle, but also the village and just in time for the blizzardously cold winter that followed.

Much faster than anyone could have imagined or even anticipated, the Princess Snow White was able to reunify the people by providing them with jobs to restore the castle, to maintain the castle as well as relax the heavy taxes that stole much from the people, and corrected the knotted relations with Franca.

The Dwarves have received royal protection within all of Apfel and have been given a shop in which they can sell and trade their wares. Since then more Dwarves have appeared and built up on the outskirts of the Dark Forest; though the Dwarves were granted permission to reside in the actual kingdom they have decided to reside in the Dark Forest as they need to rebuild themselves. All matters of the Dark Magic had been removed from the castle with thanks to the Seven Dwarves and trade has opened up to all of the neighboring countries.

Both the previous Queen Grimhilde and her Knight Frederick have not been found, nor heard from which has then ceded the rein of Apfel to Snow White. Since the news of Snow White taking to the throne, many letters from potential suitors were delivered, rejected, and resent with invitations to both her coronation as Queen of Apfel back on the first of January as well as her wedding.

It was the greatest celebration that Apfel has ever known; at least that's what the Dwarves and the people have said.

As spring has rolled around again, many things have happened, but the best part of spring is the promise of new life. . .

"Adam?" Snow White called with a knock on his door. She smiled warmly with a hand over her belly. Her hair rested around her shoulders and her finger glinted beautifully on her little finger.

"My love." He set his quill into the journal and went to his beautiful wife. His arms went around her and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "What are you doing up? You're supposed to be asleep. It's already past midnight."

"The bed got cold and I couldn't sleep." She yawned a little. "I felt a little sick again."

"Should I make you tea?" He offered and brought her over to the chaise lounge in between the window and the fireplace.

"No, no." She smiled and squeezed his hand at the offer. "I'm better now that I'm up."

"You should go back to sleep." He encouraged as another yawn escaped her.

"So should you." She asked with a hum as her arm went around him. "What are you doing?"

"Just writing." He kissed her cheek again and held her close. She fit so perfectly beside him; he loved that.

"What were you writing?" Her eyes glanced over to the black journal.

"Just some thoughts." He gave a shrug. "Just thinking back to how so much has happened in a year."

"Oh yes." She smiled as she absentmindedly rubbed her belly. "So much has happened."

"Did you know that this was the day I met you?" he ran his fingers through her luscious curls and smiled sweetly down at her.

"Already?" She blinked in surprise. "To think that it only felt like a month ago. . ."

"Were you dreaming again, my love?" He teased.

"Everyday." She beamed up at him. "I have the man that I love as my husband and king, as well as a precious gift on the way."

"A precious gift that we shall both love and protect." Adam said as he rested his hand over hers.

"We will have to think of names, sooner or later." She giggled and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I've told you, I would be happy with whatever you chose." He now rested his head on hers. "We will also have to plant a tree."

"Yes." She smiled. "I would especially like to do it before it gets difficult to walk around."

"I will carry you if it gets too difficult for you." He promised and just held her close. She snuggled closer to him.

"Are you happy?" She asked quietly as her hand found his. Their fingers laced together, and Adam pressed another kiss to her head.

"So happy I have no idea what to do, or how to contain it." He reassured with a smile. "I would never have known happiness had I never met you, nor would I have come to know love had you never opened your eyes again."

"Surely you would have found it in time." Her brow furrowed in argument.

"Never." He confirmed with a shake of his head. "I never would have been able to find anyone else other than you to ever love or be happy with."

"That's such a lonely thought." She squeezed his hand. "Though I must say, that it does make me happy."

"And making you happy is what I strive to do." He chuckled with another kiss to her forehead. "But at this hour, I strive to make sure you sleep."

He scooped her up into his arms and she giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. With his wife in his arms, he left his study and made his ways down the halls of the West Wing where he returned to their bedroom. He carefully and gracefully set her down on the bed before joining her in it. Once he settled himself in the sheets, she joined herself at his side and snuggled close beside him.

"Better?" He offered as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled the blankets closer to them.

"Much." She sighed and buried her face in the crook of his neck. A soft yawn escaped her, and one even escaped Adam.

"Why do you still write in that journal?" She asked so sweetly and so sleepily. "It's the one where you wrote down your old missions, right?"

"Old habits die hard." He chuckled and pet her head. "It's full now, anyways, so I shouldn't have to write in that ever again."

"What will you do with it?"

"Put it on a shelf, perhaps, and just simply forget about it." He closed his eyes and tried to relax himself. "I don't know, I can decide what to do with it later, but for now, we should sleep."

"And dream . . ." She agreed and Adam could feel her body relax as she allowed sleep to take her.

"Just promise to wake up." He whispered and kissed her forehead before allowing himself to fall into sleep as well.

* * *

MR. V

With the two love birds gone from the recently refurbished study, Mr. V and a man with long black hair and glowing green eyes and glassed stepped from a portal in the mirror above the fireplace.

"I thought the boy would never leave." The man droned with arms crossed as he sat down on the mantel of the fireplace.

"Now, now, friend." Mr. V chuckled. "Adam was a fellow who liked to finish things that he started."

He dusted himself off as he landed on the carpet before strutting over to the journal.

"To think he would have turned into such a poetic romantic." Mr. V chuckled as he removed the quill and set it on the desk.

"He was always a romantic." The man rolled his eyes. "Do we have everything we need? Can we go?"

"Aw, Ischer, you haven't missed Apfel?" Mr. V chuckled as he snapped the journal closed and tucked it away in his coat.

"How about I trap you in a glass frame and we see how much you like it?" The man named Ischer responded.

"You finally get a body and the Magischer Speigel gets all testy with the jokes." Mr. V tutted. "Testy testy, you'll never get a Happy Ending if you keep that up."

"I have a body again, Valentino." Ischer snapped. "That is the only Happy Ending I need! Now, can we leave?"

"So impatient." Mr. V tisked and rolled his eyes. "Fine we can leave, though I think we are both missing out on the opportunity of seeing what Adam's Happy Ending has done here."

"He gets the girl, Snow White will have a child, Grimhilde no long can use magic, Frederick got his lover back, and I have a body, what else do you need to know?"

"You aren't curious to see what would have happened if things didn't go the way they were supposed to?" Mr. V crossed his arms.

"No." Ischer bluntly glared at Mr. V. "I am curious to see what will happen if I just left you here to figure out how to get back now that the Door to this Realm has been sealed and locked."

"You do know that if things didn't go the way they did, your mirror would have broken much earlier and you never would have gotten a body, right?" He pointed his finger at Ischer and had a raised eyebrow.

"I'm aware, Valentino." Ischer glared over his glasses. "I am also aware that if Adam had failed not only would he have died, but the Dwarves, the princess, and Frederick would have died as well."

"Must you know everything?" Mr. V frowned. "You could just pretend you don't know."

"I'm leaving." Ischer said in finality, tapped his knuckles on the glass of the mirror and opened a portal.

"Touchy." Mr. V snorted and joined Ischer as he entered the portal to exit Apfel for the last time.

In the darkness lighted by green stain glass floors Mr. V could hear the clear and concise sound of a lock clicking closed. On the ground on either side of the stain glass floors silver chains shot out from the portal of Apfel off into the distance that would secure it to the Anti-Realm.

"So what happens to them now?" Ischer asked as he kept his back to Mr. V.

"I thought you knew everything." Mr. V smirked.

"I know that they will all live happy lives." Ischer huffed. "But now that these chains are here, I can't see anything about them anymore."

"That could mean the Story Weavers are done then." Mr. V mused.

"The spiders that weave the stories?" Ischer looked over his shoulder.

"The one and the same." Mr. V nodded. "Once those little weavers have stitched a story from beginning to end and sealed it into place, that's the end of the story."

"Seal it into place?"

"The Apfel castle that's in the Anti-Realm will now be sealed in a cocoon of silken stories." Mr. V explained. "Securing all endings into place so no one can alter them."

"Sounds debatable." Ischer scoffed.

"No, it's secured." Mr. V argued. "I got the journal that Adam wrote in. That's the last piece of Anti-Realm that would interfere with things."

"What about that spell book he had?"

"Oh, I took that back ages ago." Mr. v snorted. "He hardly used it and never noticed it missing after Snow White work up."

"So now that this story is finished, what do you do now?" Ischer asked.

"We, my dear friend." Mr. V clapped his hand on Ischer's shoulder. "We have several other stories to make sure they get a happy ending.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you have enjoyed this story!

It is rather surreal to finally finish this story and it certainly feels like such an achievement.

Adam Apple Poison has officially achieved his Happy Ending and all is well for him and his story. Now there are others that need their Happy Endings.

I want to thank all of my readers for reading this, leaving me comments, reviews, and messaging me as I've written this story. I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed reading it as I have enjoyed writing it.

I currently have a poll out for who I should write a story for next, which I highly request that you mark on the poll who you would like to read about next.

I do have other stories, The Firebird Ashe Scatter and Another Chance for Disney Villains, if you're interested in reading.

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, let's go on another one soon.

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter.


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